Moonlight Legend
by DChan87
Summary: Misty's been having weird dreams lately; something about a palace on the moon, but she's not telling anyone. Meanwhile, something's up, and it could mean the fate of the world... if only the parties involved could get along.
1. Strange Dreams Are Made of This

'_Where am I?_'

_The sky is black, but filled with stars. She's standing in front of a building. It's beautiful. It's like no other building she's ever seen. It's like a palace. The glass dome rises above the rest of the edifice. It's like a Roman building. Or maybe it's French, like at Versailles. Whatever it is, it's incredible. There's a flash of light and she suddenly found herself somewhere else._

_There's a gentle breeze blowing through the trees. The scent of flowers—irises, tulips, roses among them—is so enchanting. They have such a sweet smell. It seems so bright… but it's night, isn't it? How can this be? And how did she get from the building to the garden? What in the world is going on?_

'_Um, is this some kind of joke?' the orange-haired teen girl asks. Looking around, it doesn't seem like a joke. But there's so much that's just wrong with this picture._

_And then she looked up at the sky. The moon looked ni—'That's no moon!' she said. 'Earth? This is just weird.' She had enough and walked away to find out just where the hell she was._

_She ran. She ran wherever he legs took her. She just wanted to see what this was, if there was anyway out. There had it be. It can't be on the moon, can it?_

"_Excuse me," she said to someone's silhouette. "Where am I?"_

"_You're on the moon," said the girl. "And I've been waiting for you."_

_Buzz, buzz, buzz_

"_Waiti—what are you talking about?"_

_Buzz, buzz, buzz_

"_You're needed, to save what love dearly… and to save me…"_

_BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!_ Click!

Misty retracted her arm from her alarm clock before turning away. She took a deep breath and tried to drift back into slumber. Misty sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"The same dream. That's the fifth time this month," she said to herself. "OH, CRAP! !" Look how long that lasted. "Dammit, I hate being late!" she said, jumping out of bed.

"Marrill?"

"Sorry Marrill, but I have to go!" said the 17-year-old. "Stupid alarm clock! Why did have to stop working?" She put her T-shirt on. She didn't have time to take a shower. It was too late to do that. Marill watched as she grabbed her backpack and rushed downstairs. She grabbed a granola and protein bar in haste before signing out of the gym and putting up the sign saying she was out. Then, she rushed out the door and grabbed her bike.

It's late September in Cerulean. Being in California and about halfway between San Francisco and LA (although it 53-47 in favor of LA), the weather was typical. There was not a cloud in the sky and Misty just needed her t-shirt. She got a little head start on her bike before taking off for school.

In her haste though, she kind of made it hard for the pedestrians on her way to the high school. A few people yelled at her from behind, but she didn't hear them. She had to worry about getting to school, all thanks to some California state law requiring Pokemon trainers to attend a minimum 3 years of high school, starting from what would be the person's freshman year.

It didn't take long for Misty to find this school; Bill Clinton High School, opened in 2001. She rode around the modern façade to find the bike rack. It took just a second to lock it up and run into the school.

Of the 3 high schools in Cerulean, this is the largest. It's not particularly big, but for a city of Cerulean's size, it's pretty big. The largest school in the city is the University of California, Cerulean, anyway.

Misty made her way through the hallways, which were mobbed with people.

She finally got out of the way and found her locker. After putting some books away she rushed into the nearest classroom and sat down next to a very familiar-looking brown-haired girl.

"Wow, you're right on time," she said.

"Please don't tease me," said Misty.

"I'm sorry," said May. "I just didn't expect you to be late."

"My alarm clock stopped working," said Misty.

"Sure it was," May replied sarcastically.

"Keep saying that," said Misty.

"You don't look so good," said May.

"I had a rough night last night," Misty replied. Should she tell her about the dream she had? Nah!

"Is that so?" May asked. "Are you sure?"

"Of course!" said Misty. "I was up all night doing homework! I mean, who gives out five hours worth of homework three weeks into the school year, anyway?"

"Mrs. Grainger for one," said May.

"That was a rhetorical question," said Misty.

"I hope you weren't around when those orcs attacked," said May.

"No, I was in the Gy—orcs?"

"Well, that's what the newspaper called them," said May. "These orc-like monsters attacked downtown."

"I haven't heard about them," said Misty.

"Maybe you should start," said May.

"Maybe I just think the media doesn't contribute anything to society," said Misty.

"Jeez, and you said I was smarter than a 17-year-old," said May.

"I want to graduate with a 4.0 GPA," said Misty. "I've got plans."

"Really," said May. "Look, there's these things attacking the city, and you're not the least bit—"

"Alright everyone, please settle down," their teacher said as she came in the room. "Let's get this advisory period underway, okay?"

While Misty kept her attention on the teacher, she noticed something out the window. She gave it a quick look, but didn't see anything. She shrugged and turned back to the teacher. However, a black cat with a crescent moon-shaped mark on its forehead was staring at her.

After the advisory period, Misty was on her way to her first class, a history class. After navigating the crowded halls, she made it to the classroom on the second floor of the building, where a very familiar-looking black-haired teen was sitting at his desk.

"GAH!" 

"Wake up, sleepy-head!" she said after waking him up.

"Jeez, Misty," said Ash. "Did you have to do that?"

"Of course," she said. "Sleeping's for bed, not in class."

"Weren't you almost late?" Ash asked. My, word travels fast.

"Ash, cut it out!" Misty said, hitting him in the arm. In between these two, the fourth of our four stooges slipped through and sat down at a desk in front of Ash.

"What are you two fighting about again?" he asked in a Central Illinois accent. A dark blue University of Illinois hat topped his head.

"Hi Jimmy," said Ash.

"Hey, check this out," Jimmy said, dropping a newspaper on Ash's desk. The brown-haired teen looked while Ash, Misty and May looked over the article.

"Orcs?" said Misty. "Wha—what is this?"

"Bunch of monsters right out of the '_Lord of the Rings_'were spotted in the English Gardens," said Jimmy.

"Jimmy," said Misty. "Do you really think that there are characters right out of a fantasy novel running around!"

"They have pictures!" Jimmy replied, his brown eyes widening. The brown hair was parted in the middle, and he had a slender jaw line. "And they were talking about the Po—"

Even though Jimmy wanted to show this, Ash was making a gesture, indicating he wanted him to stop.

"Talking about what?" asked Misty.

"The police don't have anything to say," said Jimmy.

"Of course they don't," said Misty. "These things aren't real."

"They've been attacking for a week!" Jimmy said, exasperated.

During the break between classes, May and Ash pulled Jimmy to the side into the hallway. While some of other students walked by, they huddled up and talked quietly. "Next time, don't say anything," said Ash.

"About—"

"You know what they said," said Ash. "This is top-secret. We can't say anything. We can warn people about the baddies, but—"

"I know, I know!" said Jimmy. "Oh, here comes the teacher, let's go."

Around lunchtime, the four friends were sitting together in the cafeteria. They were joking around, teasing each other and mocking their training skills. "Ash, you couldn't even beat me when we were kids!" said Misty. "How can you beat a professional?"

"Hey, I was just about to win!" Ash countered. "You just won't admit it!"

"If Team Rocket hadn't intervened, I would have rallied to beat you!"

"Oh, brother, here we go again," said May.

"Are they always like this?" asked Jimmy.

"Kinda," said May. "You know what they say, when two people fight—"

"_I DON'T LIKE HER/HIM! ! !_" they shouted.

"Denial, much?" May whispered.

"Must be," said Jimmy. Ash and Misty huffed and turned away from each other. Misty took an angry bite of her pizza when something caught her eye.

There were two girls at a faraway table. Both were blonde, but the one with long hair had blue eyes. The other one with brown eyes had short hair. Misty couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something familiar about these two. Suddenly, they turned to look at her.

Something happened. She saw a flash of her dream. She felt overwhelmed, hyperventilating. "Misty?" Ash asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Misty. Ash could tell she was lying. May got up to try and help. She too looked back and noticed the girls.

"Why are they staring at us?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Misty. "But it's weird."

"I don't know, the one with blue eyes looks good," Jimmy said, waving at her. She turned away, almost like so many of the girls Brock hit on.

"I wonder if he was like that back in Illinois," said Ash.

Misty was still looking flustered. "Hey, what's wrong?" asked May.

"I said it's nothing," said Misty.

"Are you sick or something?"

"No," she said.

"You don't seem to have a fever," said May. "Why don't you leave?"

"That sounds good," said Misty. She got up, taking her tray with her.

Once outside, she sighed as she sat against a bench on campus. A breeze blew by. It felt nice, like in her—stop thinking about that! "I need to relax," she said to herself. It was harder than she thought, though.

While some joggers ran past her, she noticed a black speck in the distance. She didn't really pay much attention to it, though. Some more joggers ran past her. One even stopped to say 'hi'.

"Hi," she said quietly. When she looked back, the black speck had gotten closer, and it looked like a black cat. "Hi there," she said to the cat. She held out her hand. "Come here, I'm not going to hurt you. Here, kitty, kitty, kitty."

The cat ran up to her, but didn't jump in her lap. It just stared at her. Misty felt a little nervous. She looked around, hoping no one was looking. "Come on," she said. But the cat didn't move. It didn't look like a stray cat. It looks like it just left its home today and… "What the heck is that?"

The cat had a crescent-shaped spot on its forehead. Misty reached for the cat, but it didn't like that, running away. Misty sighed and dropped her hands to her side.

"Hi, Misty!" May said when Misty came back to class. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," she said. "I guess I just needed some air."

"You looked kind of flustered though," said May. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

"No!" Misty shouted. May recoiled.

"Sor-ry!" said the other girl. "Do you know those girls?"

"No," said Misty. "Should I?"

"I did some asking around," said May. "The girl with long hair and blue eyes is named Denchu Risato. The girl with short hair and brown eyes is named Deshi Ginsei."

"What else?" said Misty.

"I don't know," said May. "Nobody really said anything else about them." Misty sighed, recognizing the complex world that is high school politics and relationships. In all likelihood, those girls didn't talk to others.

By the time the day ended, Misty had forgotten all about the girls in the cafeteria and the cat. In fact, when she got back, she had other things to worry about. She walked into the gym, dropping her bag on the table. From the looks of things, there had been some challengers making appointments.

The stress of the (sometimes superficial) jungle and politics of high school were of no interest to her. By contrast, she was more interested in getting her homework done and focusing on the gym.

While in the gym's kitchen, she grabbed a glass of orange juice. She drank so much her friends joked that's how she got her hair color. Gulping it down, she couldn't help but think about those girls in the cafeteria. What was that all about, anyway?

But, who cares? She needed to get to work on her homework.

An hour later, she closed her history book, shouting "I'M DONE!" to no-one in particular.

"_Woah-oh! Livin' on a Prayah!_" And right on time, her cell phone rings.

"Hello?" she asked when she picked it up.

"_Hi, Misty!_" A male voice said from the other end.

"Oh, hi, Ash," she said.

"_Are you busy?_"

"No, why?"

"_Well, me, May and Jimmy are at Kasey's and we're waiting for Drew. Do you think you can meet us down here?_"

"I'll try," she said. "I'll get there as fast as I can."

"Great, thanks!" he said as he hung up the phone.

"Well?" May said after taking a bite out of a hot dog.

"She said she's going to get here as soon as she can," said Ash.

"Okay," said May.

"How fast will she get here?" said Jimmy.

"Well, I think the gym isn't too far from here," he said, taking a bite out of his cheeseburger. Pikachu, who hadn't appeared yet, was slurping on some ketchup.

"I think the only reason you're here is because you're living with your mom," said Jimmy. "She has to live at the gym."

"Dammit, where's Drew?" asked May.

You know, those girls kind of looked familiar," said Jimmy. "You think—"

"I doubt it," said Ash, sounding _way _more intelligent than he usually does. "They didn't say much about them."

"That's too vague," said Jimmy.

"Yeah, I know," said Ash. "Still, I think we—"

"Ash, don't say anything!" May whisper shouted. "We're in the middle of a restaurant for cryin' out loud!"

"Sorry!" said Ash. "Geez, even I have to be admonished."

"I didn't know you were this intelligent," said Jimmy.

"Neither did I," said May.

"Still, we should keep on our toes unti—what in the world is going on?"

By the time Misty was ready to leave, ten minutes had already gone by. It had taken longer for her to get something on and thus she was delayed five minutes. However, that wasn't the only thing she had to do.

When she rushed downstairs, she nearly ran into Brock, who'd come in unannounced. "Hi, Misty!" he said.

"Hi Brock," she replied. "Could you please move?"

"Why?"

"I have to get to Kasey's!" she replied.

"But isn't that near the UC Cerulean campus?"

"It's not too far!" said Misty.

"Great!" he said. "Then can you help me out with something?"

"What?"

"I need you to look over some things for me."

"What? Why? Is it gym-related?"

"Well, kind of—"

"I'm sorry, I can't!" she said, pushing her way past him. "I'm sorry, but I need to get to Kasey's!" Brock only stood there, wondering why she was in such a hurry. The place was open until 9 o'clock, anyway. But he saw Misty scream past on her bike, nearly knocking someone over. Brock decided he'd wait, and so he turned on the TV. What he saw floored him.

"Oh, my god!"

Downtown Cerulean was under attack.

A bunch of creatures, resembling orcs, had stormed the place. Frightened Ceruleanites, at first confused, started running once the orcs stormed the square. There must have been tens, if not hundreds of them. Their ugly appearances and jagged-looking armor added to their frightening appearance.

Downtown was filled with screams and grunts. Arrows were flying everywhere. Though they weren't lit with fire, they were still flying in every direction. Many Ceruleanites managed to escape. Some of the slower Ceruleanitess weren't so lucky. It only took a short time before the square was taken by the orcs.

And it wasn't long before the copsshowed up. The Cerulean police department brought in several officers with assault rifles to handle the orcs. At the same time, the SWAT team also showed up, as did officers in full riot gear. "Ready! FIRE!"

The sounds of gunfire filled the air. It certainly did a lot against the orcs, but it wasn't the best. That armor must have been some really good armor. Several orc archers lifted their bows and fired into the air. They came down like rain. The commander shouted his orders and the officers fell back. The riot police held up their shields.

But they found out too late that it was simply a distraction. The orcs with swords had charged the police lines. They officers panicked and ran.

:-:-:-:-:-:

To be continued

Hey guys, what's up? Sorry if I made the Cerulean police look bad, but I only wanted to highlight the severity of the situation at the end.

So, if you look, there's another story with the same title, but takes place in Munich. And yes, they're technically the same story. However, because I had this wild hair, I decided to make one story take place in Cerulean, the other in Munich. Why? I felt like it. But, I am offering this up for a vote.

If I get enough reviews on each, telling me which setting to go with, I'll stick with that. Personally, though, I prefer the one that takes place in Munich, but who cares? It's your decision! Tell me which one you prefer.

Oh, and I almost forgot. This story borrows characters from a French fan project called "Soldier". The borrowed characters are Deshi and Denchu. I felt I might as well clear that up.


	2. Counterattack

Meanwhile, we come along a certain green-haired young coordinator. He was in a car with some person, a brown-haired teen who looked about a year older than Ash. They didn't see anything going on. They were well out of downtown right now. The older boy, who had brown hair, just stared at the road.

"Tell me why you need me to drive you, again?"

"Because I don't have a car," said Drew.

"You should have taken the bus," said the older boy.

"Toya, it's not my fault," said Drew.

"It is," said Toya. "Now shut—what the?"

When he looked behind, he noticed some orcs giving chase. "SHIT!"

What are those things! ?" Drew shouted back.

"I don't know," said Toya. "But they're not going to catch me!" He swerved his car, avoiding whatever arrow came his way. Several orcs raced up, shooting arrows from the side. Drew didn't know which to be afraid of; Toya's driving, or these things.

Back in downtown, the scene had changed. Two new creatures, one that looked particularly monstrous, and one that looked more human, had shown up. "That was easy," said the green-skinned woman.

"Too easy," said the monstrous one, who looked like a lizard.

Just then, the square was filled up by soldiers. But they didn't look like National Guardsmen. No, they wore blue uniforms and what looked like an eagle on their shoulder patches. A woman, with short hair and a black spysuit, walked up behind them, crouching down. She reached for her walkie-talkie. "We're in position, sir."

"_Get ready_," said the voice on the other end.

"Now?"

"_Now._" The woman nodded. The woman reached for a bullhorn.

"This is agent Maria Hill of the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate!" she said. "You are ordered to lay down your weapons and surrender!"

"You and whose army?" the feminine monster shouted. It was enough. Agent Hill nodded.

The soldiers opened fire, but this seemed more direct than the police. These were highly trained and ready soldiers. Several orcs fell, black blood spilling all over the place. The orcs split up, one group led by the lizard monster, the other group led by the female monster.

"They've split up!" she said into her walkie-talkie.

"_Direct half to follow the lizard, the other half to follow the woman_," said the voice.

"_Yes sir,_" Agent Hill said on the other end of the line.

S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, San Francisco.

By now the situation was being monitored very closely. The big room was filled with agents and a cacophony of typing and words. The big monitors that circled the room showed footage of the battle going on in Cerulean. Other monitors showed X's representing the orcs and agents were on other monitors.

The atmosphere was calm, but fevered. A few agents went about like this was nothing. They must be veterans. Others watched nervously. They must be rookies. One agent walked along the catwalk that intersected with another one. In their pits, the agents were coordinating the defense of the city.

It was really difficult what to say in this situation. From the way things would look to an outsider, you'd think they were in dire straits. However, the same argument could be made that they had things under control. But you can never be to sure. It only takes one second for things to go wrong. But it didn't look that way here.

"What's the situation?" she asked.

"We've got one monster heading for the university campus," said one agent. "The other monster has taken the remaining orcs and is heading south, towards the city limits."

"The police should be able to handle the female monster," said the female agent. "What about the other monster?"

"National Guard troops are inbound," said the agent. "Some of our people are in pursuit."

"Keep on them!" said the agent. "Get some more of our people in there to cut them off!"

"Yes, ma'am!" said the agent.

"Has the city been evacuated?" one person in the middle the room asked.

"Downtown is being evacuated," said the female agent.

"Good," said the leader.

By the time Misty arrived downtown, the place was being evacuated, but there was still a lot of chaos. She had no time to see what was going on. A policeofficer pulled her to the side. She fell to the ground. Several people ran past her. She scrambled out of the way, trying to avoid getting trampled.

She reached the wall, panting in terror. The place was still in a panic. It was like a stampede of scared elephants. People in herd situations are dangerous. Several police officers and National Guardsman were doing their best to direct the human traffic, but the fear in air was infecting them, too.

The fear was heavy in the air. And Misty felt it, too. That's when she saw the orcs. The ugly monsters rampaging down Corsola Street shocked her system. Now she could see why people were running. And she couldn't blame them for being scared.

Luckily, Misty is no Bella Swan. And she was prepared.

She gathered her courage, standing up and grabbing a Poke Ball out of her bag. "Go, Blastoise!"

"Blastoise, Blast!"

"Blastoise, Hydro Cannon!"

"Blas… TOISE! !" Blastoise got on all fours and let loose a torrent of water from its shoulder guns. The attack struck the wall of orcs. They could not defend against a Pokemon attack, being blasted into each other.

But there were still more of them. And the female monster, who happened to be right in front of her, charged forward. "What do you think you're doing, girlie! ?" she shouted.

"YAH!" Misty panicked, throwing another Poke Ball, this one releasing Golduck. "Goldduck, Mega Punch!"

"GOOOLL…"

"OUT OF MY WAY, SCUM! !" the monster shouted, swatting Golduck out of the way.

"Golduck, Blastoise, return!" Misty shouted, as the two were recalled. She started to run. Now she didn't know what possessed her to do this, but she pivoted on her left foot and gave the monster a punch to the jaw. What she didn't know was that there was a water drop-like symbol on her forehead.

Meanwhile, poor Drew was in for the ride of his life. Toya was turning the streets of Cerulean into his own personal racetrack. And since there are things called speed limits, that's saying something. But then again, your average commuter isn't being chased my murderous orcs! "Could you please just—Oh, I'm terribly sorry, ma'am! Slow down! ?"

"NO!" Toya shouted.

"Well, I don't want to di—I'm going to pay for that!—don't want to die!"

"We won't die!" said Toya. "Trust me; I know what I'm doing!"

"I hope you do!" Drew shouted. Toya swerved, avoiding an orc. He'd rolled the windows up, but, "Are those windows arrow-proof?"

"They should be!" said Toya.

"Oh, great! And I just wanted to meet with May!"

"We're not going to die!" Toya growled. Now just hang on! There's an abandoned shopping mall just north of here!"

Back in San Francisco, S.H.I.E.L.D. was watching the situation carefully. By now, they'd noticed Toya's car heading north. In fact, the lizard monster was heading in the same direction, heading south. It looked like they would intercept each other.

"Commander Fury," said the female agent. "The enemies are approaching. It doesn't look like we'll be able to mobilize our forces in time."

"It doesn't matter," said Fury. This is Commander Nick Fury. The Samuel L. Jackson look-a-like scanned the monitors with his good eye. Much of the orc resistance was being put down by now. But, these two breakaway forces were going to be a problem. One, the campus isn't exactly made for a military strike. Second, even if that abandoned mall is out of the way, the two people in the car would be a problem. But Fury had an ace up his sleeve. "Is our team nearby?"

"Yes, they should be, sir," said the female agent.

"Put them on the line."

"Yes, sir!" Fury waited, while he was connected to their strike team. Finally, he heard them pick it.

"There's a car headed north towards the abandoned Cerulean mall," said Fury. "Some orcs are also going that way. Gentlemen… you're up."

"_YES, SIR!_"

Misty had been following the female monster for a while. It had taken a small band of orcs that had survived the battle into the park near the UCC campus. She had to be quiet. Otherwise, well, you get the idea. The place was mostly abandoned, due to the large evacuation order. That didn't matter to her. What mattered was stopping this thing.

But she still didn't know why she punched that thing. It was like something had possessed her, made her do it. And you know what? It felt kind of good. Sure, her hand was still hurting, but still—it felt great! But the monster was still on the run.

It looked confused. It genuinely did not know the layout of the park. She hid behind some trees. It seemed to be the safest—and smartest—thing to do. She waited, not making a sound. She wanted to know what was going on, and whatever that monster was saying, it could help.

"… Never knew we'd face this much resistance! Our plan has failed!" Plan? What plan? "You don't understand! These humans, calling themselves 'Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate' intercepted us! No, we haven't seen anything else. Salazard left, he went somewhere else and took a large force of orcs with him."

"Who's Salazard?" Misty said to herself. Just then, she heard something.

"What is it now?"

"Your reign of terror has ended!" the voice called out. Misty could not see, but it looked like the monster was… afraid.

"No! It can't be! NO! !"

Drew was screaming at the top of his lungs. An orc arrow had hit the left front of Toya's car and the tire had blown just a couple hundred feet from the abandoned mall. Toya tried desperately to get the car under control. A bunch of orcs were swarming them. Toya struggled to regain control, the car swerving about.

They crashed through the chain link fence. But the car still hadn't stopped. And Toya was starting to lose control. He gripped the steering wheel while Drew held on to the door handle. The tires were screeching and the left front showering sparks. Toya pressed down on the brakes in a desperate attempt to stop the car.

Finally, it came to a halt. "We made it? WE MADE IT! !" In his excitement, Drew hugged an uncomfortable Toya. But the sounds of a horde of orcs alerted them.

"We're not done yet," said Toya.

Salazard, the lizard monster, had arrived with his band of orcs. Toya and Drew recoiled in fear, but there was less on Toya's face. "Crap," he said.

Suddenly, three figures came out of nowhere, gathering in front of Toya's car. "Who are you?" Salazard called.

All three were wearing black leather jackets with stylized numbers on the back, like animals in red, blue and yellow. The three faced down Salazard and his orc band. The three faces were familiar; Ash, Jimmy, and May.

"Get out of the way!" shouted Salazard. The three didn't move, instead reaching for a lanyard, and pulling something that looked like a chip. Then, they grabbed a cell phone-like device out and put the chip inside.

"Ready!" said Ash.

"_Ready!_

"_RPM,_" they pressed a button on their phones._ "Get in Gear!_"

In a flash of light, they were transformed, dressed in red, blue and yellow spandex. Ash in red, Jimmy in blue, and May in yellow. "Whoa!" said Toya.

"GET THEM! !" Salazard shouted. The orcs rushed forward. Ash, Jimmy and May prepared, the bands on their gloves and boots spinning like tires, colored grooves appearing on them. They rushed forward and engaged the orcs.

Ash jumped, tumbled in the air and landed, jumping up and kicking the orcs. He landed and spun around. His boots screeched like tires. He got down and sweep kicked another bunch of orcs. He got up, blocking an orc sword and elbowing the orc in the face. He spun again, his boots screeching. He side kicked an orc into a group of them. They fell down under their own weight.

Jimmy was next, grunting as he punched a couple of orcs in the chest. He grabbed two and slammed them against each other. He ducked, avoiding an orc sword and punched that orc in the face. He ran up to another group, shoving them hard. He pushed them backwards. Their heavy armor did the rest. He kicked at an orc's head, knocking it backwards. He elbowed another one behind him.

May ducked, cartwheeled, and then flipping over before kicking an orc in the face. She threw a nasty uppercut at one as arrows flew past. The orc fell backwards into a group of them. She kick blocked a couple of orcs' kicks and then knocked them backwards. She grunted when an orc grabbed her from behind. She just slammed on his foot. Even the armor couldn't stop her. She elbowed it back.

"Time to kick it up!" Ash said, grabbing a red chip from his belt pack. Then he grabbed his fuel pump nozzle-shaped blaster. "Engine Cell, Activate! Nitro Saber!" He took a cut out of several orcs with the extended blade. He spun, blocking an orc sword and taking a big cut. He parried, blocked, and thrust. Several orcs fell to the ground while he let loose on them. Then, he turned his attention to Salazard.

Jimmy braced himself. An orc rushed him. He caught the orc in the right place and lifted it up, spinning it around and then tossed it into several orcs. He grabbed his Nitro Blaster, inserted his Engine Cell and took a couple of shots. He back kicked another orc into the wall. He ducked while an orc crashed over him. He kicked, knocking the sword out of one orc's hands. He clotheslined the next orc that came his way.

As for May, she jumped up, flipping in the air. When she came down, she took out as many orcs as she could. She kicked another one. The band on her leg started spinning, sending sparks and the orc flying. She took out her blaster and fired a couple of shots. The orcs were sent flying while explosions sent others flying. With another spin move, she took out the rest. Then, she noticed Drew was in trouble.

Salazard had noticed Toya's car. This got the two occupants to get out ASAP. Just then, May jumped in and crashed into Salazard. "Get away from them!" she shouted.

"Damn girl!" Salazard shouted. He got up and rushed her. Just then, Ash rushed in and took a couple of nasty swipes at Salazard. Salazard screamed, flying back into the wall. Ash, Jimmy and May regrouped. They pressed their belt buckles. Their chest insignias lit up, and some weapons materialized right in front of them

"Street Saber!" said Ash.

"Turbo Cannon!" cried Jimmy.

"Zip Charger!" cried May.

"Let's go!" Ash screamed. The three charged Salazard, who was still getting up. Ash took a few swipes out of him. Sparks flew while Salazard screamed. The lizard regrouped and took a swipe at Ash. Ash blocked it and took another slash. A pair of blasts rocked Salazard, knocking him down. Jimmy aimed the Turbo Cannon at him again and took two more shots. Salazard screamed. May took the Zip Charger and revved it up on her arm, firing it like a wind-up car. It zipped around, hitting Salazard every which way.

Salazard growled at the trio. They didn't move. "Who are you?" he asked.

"We're S.H.I.E.L.D.'s elite strike force!" said Ash. "We're the Power Rangers."

"Power Rangers?" said Toya.

"Who cares!" Salazard shouted. He roared, got up and charged the trio. They jumped out of the way, but not before he hit May.

"Yellow!" Ash shouted. He didn't have time to do anything. Salazard attacked, forcing him to defend. He parried several attacks with his Street Saber. Jimmy gave him some cover, letting off a couple of shots from the Turbo Cannon. Salazard screamed and used his tail to whack Jimmy into the street.

"Hey!" Drew said as he ran over to May. Toya tried to stop him. However, he didn't have enough time, as Drew was with May before he could do anything. "Are you okay?" Drew asked, picking her up.

"I'm fine," she said. "I'm not hurt. Who's he?"

"Just a friend," said Drew. "And who are you?"

"I'm the Yellow Ranger," she said, matter-of-factly. "Now let me go!" He did and she ran off to help Ash and Jimmy.

Ash was certainly having trouble. Salazard had him on the ropes. He was trying to keep Salazard from pushing him to the ground. But the cackling lizard had the advantage. Salazard cackled and said, "Give it up, scum. You're not what we're after."

"What?"

"You're just a—AAH!" Sparks flew from Salazard. Ash looked to see May holding her blaster. He saluted her before taking a big swing at Salazard.

It was then that Toya noticed several orcs regrouping, getting ready to shoot the Rangers. Well, Toya wasn't about to let anything happen. Before Drew could do anything, Toya rushed over to them, putting some gloves on. He threw a vicious right hook at the orc archer. He wasn't sure how hard he hit, but it knocked it out. Then, he spun around and kicked the other orc right in the chin. "TOYA!" Toya looked to see another orc rushing at him.

"KYAA!" Drew shouted and kicked the orc right in the back. Jimmy turned around and shot the orc twice. He saluted the two before going back to Salazard.

"Time to finish this!" said Ash. "Road Blaster!" Ash and Jimmy combined the Street Saber with the Turbo Cannon. May placed the Zip Charger in the Turbo Cannon. "So we're nobodies, huh?" Ash asked. "Tell your boss we're serious!" Ash placed his red Engine Cell in the Engine Cell slot in the Turbo Cannon.

"Ready!" said Jimmy.

"Thornia!" Salazard shouted, apparently to the female monster. "We have a new enemy!"

"Aim!" said May. The targeting computer in the Street Saber raised and locked on to Salazard.

"FIRE! !" cried Ash. He pulled the trigger and the Zip Charger was fired at Salazard.

"THE POWER RANGEEERRRSSS! ! !" Salazard screamed as he was hit by the energized Zip Charger before exploding.

"Wow-how-how!" said Drew. "That was awesome!" Toya just stood there in surprise as the Rangers walked over to them.

"Hey," said Ash. "Thanks for your help." He reached out, extending his hand to Toya. Toya looked like he wasn't sure what to do. Finally, with Drew's encouragement, he shook Ash's hand.

"You're welcome," he said.

"You did good," May said to Drew. "Thank you."

"Oh, it was nothing," said Drew. "Thanks for helping me May." Drew covered his mouth up. Underneath her visor, May was utterly shocked. Now, in the correct situation, she should have denied it, saying something along the lines of 'who is she?' but in her shocked state, she only made things worse.

"D-D-Drew, I—"

"Yellow!" Ash said, trying to keep her quiet.

"Ash?" Oh, great. The secret's out.

"Who's he?" Nice damage control.

"Forget it," said Drew. "May, what's going on?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said May.

"What is she talking about?" asked Toya. "This is all so sudd—" Ash got a ring from his phone.

"Hello?"

"Rangers," said Fury. "We have another monster near the UCC campus. Get over there ASAP."

"Understood," said Ash. "We have to go. There's another monster near the UCC campus."

"Then let's get movin'!" said Jimmy. Drew did not have a chance to ask more questions, as the Rangers sped off.

Misty could not believe her eyes. It wasn't possible! It couldn't be! They're supposed to be a fantasy, not reality! She'd heard rumors of their existence when she was younger, when she was off traveling with Ash. She always scoffed it off, thinking it was just a story. There's no way they could exist! It was as if she was picked up and dropped into her favorite manga. But there they were; standing nearly a hundred yards away.

Sailors.

"This isn't possible!" said Thornia. "How can you exist?"

"We exist because people like you exist!" said one of the Sailors. There were two of them; one whose color scheme was yellow, the other in red. The one with the yellow skirt, boots, collar and bow had long blonde hair. The one with the red skirt, boots, collar and bow had short dirty blonde hair. "Your reign of terror in this city has ended!" said the one in yellow. "I am the soldier of electricity, Sailor Thunder!"

"And I am the soldier of flame, Sailor Fire!"

"And in the name of Thunder,"

"And Fire,"

"_We shall punish you!_"

_And how are they supposed to be intimidating?_ Misty thought to herself. Boy, that sure wore off.

"Damn you," said Thorina. "ATTACK! !" The orcs charged forth. The two Sailors jumped out of the way and prepared to strike.

"Stunning Thunder!" Thunder cried. A ball of thunder (duh) discharged from her hands as she jumped and slammed it into the ground, sending waves of orcs flying in all directions. Misty watched in awe. She was so cool!

"Flame… THROWER!" Fire went all Kamehameha, shooting a stream of flames from her hands. The flames scorched the orcs, who were screaming in agony. Misty was a little less impressed with her, though. But it was probably because of the agony she put the orcs through. Evil or not, that must have been painful.

She noticed Thorina talking to someone. "Salazard, what is it? What do you mean, 'new enemy?' Power Rangers what ar—Salazard? Salazard! Damn!"

"What's a Power Ranger?" Misty asked to herself. Thorina gave up on contacting Salazard. The two Sailors were still cleaning up orc resistance, and Thorina had a bad idea. It became clear why she's known as Thorina, as she used some vines coming out of her body.

She had the two Sailors wrapped up in those vines. Naturally, Fire had it easy; just use that power of hers. Thorina was screaming while Fire burned off the vines that had her and Thunder bound. With those vones gone, Fire and Thunder had a clear attack. "Stunning Thunder!"

"Flame… THROWER! !"

But Thorina had an ace up her sleeve. Apparently, she was faster than those attacks. "Where did that speed come from?" Misty asked.

"How did she—"

"Never mind!" Thunder interrupted. "Stunning Thunder!" The volts of electricity did not strike Thorina. But from the way Misty could tell, all she had was a monster equivalent of Vine Whip and some speed. However, there could be more in that arsenal of hers. Knowing grass-type Pokemon, she could use an evil equivalent of Razor Leaf.

"Try this!" Misty was not surprised at all to see Thorina let loose a fury of leaves at the two Sailors. While Fire did defend herself quite well, it wasn't working out for Thunder. And that left her open. "Hi there!" Thorina said, kicking Thunder right in the face. Thunder crashed into Fire, and the two were knocked down. Thorina was laughing.

And now Misty knew she had to do something. There were more orcs on their way. But what could she do? Sure, she's brave and all, but she doesn't have any—is that fur? She looked down. It was the same black cat from earlier. "Go away," she whispered. The cat didn't move, staring up at her. "It's dangerous," she said, bending down to pick it up. It ran off, and Misty tried to call it to her.

"Come on," she said. "It's dangerous." But the cat stayed there. Misty didn't know what to do. So, she decided to get it on her good side. "I don't know what to do about those two," she said. "I'm no superhero. And Pokemon aren't going to do much." She slid down on the tree. "Man, if only there was someway of helping them."

As if it understood her, the cat jumped up, tumbled, and a blue stick with a blue ball and a raindrop symbol on it appeared. "This is weird," she said, picking it up. And when she touched it, the strangest thing of all happened.

The raindrop symbol appeared on her head again, and she lifted the stick in the air. And, as if on instinct, she cried, "Ocean, elemental power, Make… UP!" It felt like nothing she'd ever felt before. It was like Ecstasy, only this one wasn't killing her. Then, the feeling stopped. She looked down. "Holy cow! I'm a Sailor! ?" Yep, she was dressed just like those girls, except her coloring was blue. Now that she had something, she stepped out from the tree line.

"Stop right there!" she shouted. Thornia turned around. Her jaw dropped.

"Another one! ?"

"I am the soldier of water, Sailor Ocean!" she said. "And in the name of the seas, I shall punish you!" _Ugh, did I __really__ just __say__ that?_

"She must be a new one," Thornia said to herself.

"What should we do with her?" said one of the orcs.

"She should be easy," said Thornia.

"They must think I'm easy," Misty said to herself. The orcs aimed their arrows, drew their swords and prepared to charge. Misty didn't think she could handle their forces with her fists or feet. She needed an attack. And as if by instinct, she knew she had one. She rushed forward, right as the orcs notched their arrows. "Tidal...WAVE!" She unleashed a torrent of water that crashed over the orcs, sending them towards the river.

"Wow," said Thunder.

"You little BITCH! !" Thornia screamed. "Time to DIE! !"

"Stunning Thunder!"

"Flame… THROWER! !" Thornia had made a big mistake. In focusing on Misty, she'd forgotten about Fire and Thunder.

"Tidal… WAVE!" Not to be outdone, Misty let her own attack loose. The three attacks combined and Thornia could only scream as she was incinerated.

"That takes care of her," Thunder said, inspecting the monster's ashes. Then she turned to Misty. "Thank you, Ocean," she said.

"Um, you're welcome, I guess," said Misty.

"Where did you get that power?" said Fire.

"Um, I'm not sure," Misty replied. "Some black cat gave me the stick, and I just used it."

"Do you even know what's going on?" Thunder asked.

"No!" she shouted. "I had this weird dream last night about a palace on the moon, and now I'm wearing a Sailor outfit! Oh, this is all so sudden! I should be back at the gym!"

"Gym? Wait… Misty Waterflower?" said Thunder.

"What are you talking about?" Misty asked.

"You said Gym, are you the Cerulean gym leader?" said Fire.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Misty replied.

"Now that I think about it, she has the hair," said Fire.

"So, who are you supposed to be?" Misty asked.

"Calm down!" said Fire.

"Are you alright?" asked Thunder.

"NO!" Misty shouted. "I want to know what's going on!"

"You're a Sailor now!" said Thunder. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Why are you asking like you know my name?" asked Misty. "Please, just tell me what is going on?"

"We don't know either," said Fire.

"WHAT! ?"

"But we intend to find out," said Thunder. "We need you to do something."

"What is that?" asked Misty.

"Meet us here at 4 o'clock tomorrow," said Fire. "Untransformed."

"Will you?"

"Yes," said Thunder.

"Um, okay," Misty said while holding her head. "I think I can meet you, but I'm not sure who you are."

"You will know," said Thunder. "You will know."

Misty desperately wanted to know _now_. And she opened her mouth to say that, but Thunder silenced her. It was in that moment she heard a sound, like a car approaching. It was coming from the south, and that's where their heads turned. _Great, NOW what?_ Misty thought to herself.

They burst out of the tree line like a bat out of hell. They skidded to a stop, the sounds of tires screeching with their boots. Misty was completely bewildered. Red, blue and yellow spandex, black visors; who are these guys? Well, they couldn't be worse dressed than her. "Um, who are they?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Thunder. Her hands started to crackle with electricity.

"Oh, great," said the one in blue. "Hey, um, what are we going to do, Red?"

"Who are you?" said the red one.

"We are Sailors!" said Thunder. "Sailors Thunder, Fire, and Ocean! Who are you?"

"Sailors?" said Red. "I didn't know they really existed."

"I didn't know they were here," said Yellow.

"Who are you?" said Thunder.

"We're the Power Rangers," said Red. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No," said Thunder. "Unless you stay out our way."

"We will," said Red. "But you'd better stay out of our way, too."

"We'll see," said Thunder. Misty watched, hoping this wouldn't devolve into a superhero version of 'NO U'. But the two continued to stare at each other until the Power Rangers started to leave. Their mission was done, anyway. She watched them speed off, wondering just what was going to happen next.

Her problems were just beginning.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Okaaayyy, a really long chapter, there.

Um, anyways, I think this might be one of the better chapters so far, but, it might get better from here on out. Now the problem is, we've got two superhero teams, so balancing the two's going to be difficult.

And if the Sailor thing looked like it came out of left field, just remember the first chapter. Then you'll figure things out. And the Power Ranger thing is hinted at. The series in this is _Power Rangers RPM_.

As I said previously, the characters of Sailor Thunder (Thunder Soldier) and Sailor Fire (Fire Soldier) belong to the Soldier project. I'm just borrowing them and claim no credit (except for coming up with the clearly unoriginal adaptation names).

And as for the settings, I'm keeping the two-setting thing for now. I think they both have their merits, and they're essentially the same story, just with a few changes and adjustments for each.


	3. Recruitment

"Misty! Oh, thank goodness, you're okay!" Brock said when Misty slogged into the Cerulean Gym. She looked like a mess. There were dark circles under her eyes and her hair was a mess. She certainly looked like she'd been through a lot. She certainly had been. Now things were much more complicated than Brock could see, but there was no way Misty was going to say anything. "I saw the attack on the news! Were you hurt?"

"No," she said, walking past him.

"Misty, what's—"

"I'm tired," she said. Brock couldn't say anything. He just watched with his mouth gaping open as Misty slogged upstairs.

Landing on the bed face-first, she groaned in exhaustion. What a day! "I need a painkiller," she said, holding her head. That reversion must have taken a lot out of her. Being a Sailor was not as easy as those girls made it seem.

And who the hell were they? They didn't wear masks, for cryin' out loud. Don't superheroes of any kind have to wear mas—oh, wait, Superman.

She'd first heard of them a few years ago. She'd assumed they were just some story fantasy-crazy girls created. They were just some kind of modern fairy tale. There was no reason someone would actually _believe _in them. Sailors belonged in the realm of bad comic books. Anyone who actually thought they were real was a fool.

In reality, she did believe in them when she was younger. She was at the right age to believe in fantastical ideas, so she'd keep up with internet rumors about the Sailors every time she and the trio got to a Pokemon Center. It kind of made her friends and family a little nervous, particularly Ash. But there were times when it seemed like she had something; the sky darkening in the middle of the day, for one thing. But for the most part, they were credited to simple things like a Zapdos sighting (I'm not even kidding).

She figures she must have stopped believing some time when she got older. She had other things to worry about, like running the Gym, so things like childhood fantasy went out the window. Eventually, she came to see the idea of girls running around fighting monsters while dressed like a combination between Wonder Woman and Japanese schoolgirls was kind of silly.

Now _Power Rangers_ on the other hand… where the hell did they come from?

At some point, she fell asleep, exhausted from the day's events. _She's on the moon again. The building in the distance gave of an ethereal glow. The sound of running water is the only thing she heard. But that didn't last long. _Come…_ Of all the clichéd things to hear, it has to be _that_. With a sigh, she puts her foot forward and tries to find the source of the voice. She's actually become used to the dream. It's become familiar, but she's still a little apprehensive. _Where are you? _The voice sounds impatient. Is it something she did? She's closer to the building. It looks abandoned, but it couldn't have been more than a day ago. It's still in pristine shape. _

_Her footsteps echo once she enters. Marble covers the floors, walls, and ceilings. She wants to find whoever… who's that at the top of the stars? "Hello?" she asks. "Miss?" She stayed silent. She'd seen enough horror movies to know that a person standing at the top of the stairs and staying silent is a ghost. But she feels at ease with this girl. She's familiar, like the one from the earlier dreams._

"_You did well today," she says. Okaaayyy… "I am pleased."_

"_Do you have to talk like that?" she asks. _

"_I am a princess," the other girl replies._

"_Princess! ?" The other one nods. _

"_You are a Sailor now," she says. "You have great responsibility." Is she copying Spider-Man? "I hope you and your comrades will succeed."_

"_What are you tal—"_

"_Whooooaaaa, we're halfway thay-ah_

_Whoa-oh! Livin' on a Pray-ah!"_

Misty awoke to her phone ringing. She looked at it, and noticed the Caller ID said "Ash". It only took less than a second for her to answer. "Hello?"

"_Hi, Misty!_" his familiar voice chimed from the other end. "_I was just calling to see if you're okay._"

"I'm fine," she said. "I guess you're okay."

"_Yeah, we got away as those things arrived,_" said Ash. "_I was worried since I didn't know if you were okay, but, you're fine!_"

"Yeah," she said. She sounds a little bored.

"_Can I make it up to you?_" he asked.

"How?"

"_Why don't I take you to the Cerulean Fair this Saturday?_"

"Cerulean Fair?" Now she's interested. "Really?"

"_Of course!_" he enthusiastically interrupted. "_I've been wanting to go for a while, now!_"

"Um, okay," said Misty. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Okay, Misty!" Ash said a big smile on his face. "Bye!" He pressed 'END' while May and Jimmy looked on. When he turned to them, his face shifted from his old, goofy grin to that of a serious leader. It wasn't quite a mask, but more like an off-screen character development.

"So what now?" asked Jimmy. "Now that your friend accidentally spilled the beans, S.H.I.E.L.D. is pissed."

"Fuck you," said May.

"We'll have to figure that out," said Ash. "I have an idea, but I'm not sure what you guys—or Commander Fury—will think about it."

"Try us," said Jimmy.

"Who was that guy Drew was riding with?"

"He's gone off the deep end," said Jimmy. "Why?"

"Because I think we need a new Ranger."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"_Your mission was a FAILURE! ! !_"

"But we did our best!"

"_Your best is not good enough! Those human fools were able to stop the attack!_"

"But we did alert the humans to us."

"_Aye, you did do that. But remember, I do not want anymore failures!_"

:-:-:-:-:-:

Misty woke up earlier and on time the next morning, and arrived at school about 20 minutes early. She had a good breakfast of… Eggos and Frosted Flakes. But, Misty was satisfied and ready to take on the day, even some nasty monsters. But the reminder that she needed to meet with those Sailor girls at 4:00 kind of dampened her mood. But she would face them with aplomb.

The campus was buzzing. She'd already gotten a preview in the morning when she saw KCCT news of the fight (right after some issues with the Presidential election) at breakfast. But this was when she saw how big it was. Newspapers covering the event were everywhere. Pictures of her (as a Sailor) were nowhere to be seen, and neither were the Power Rangers.

It wasn't as crazy when classes started. In between periods, however, then things went back to crazy. Rumors were flying around about what happened. Some of them were that it was all part of some guerilla movie film. Others were claiming it was aliens. Others mentioned the Sailors (but not by name).

This didn't matter to our resident S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. They were concerned about a certain green-haired coordinator and his brown-haired friend. There was no way they were going to kill him, but they needed him to stay silent. And they couldn't tip him off, either.

Drew had different classes from the others. So they had to wait for lunchtime or a break to talk to him. It was around lunchtime when they were able to talk to him. They managed to find him in the crowded cafeteria. May made the first move. "Hi, Drew!" she said, a big smile on her face in an attempt to charm him.

"Um, hi," he said. It must have worked.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Um, sure," said Drew. May sat down next to him while Ash and Jimmy followed suit. It didn't take long for Drew to realize she was trying to sweet talk him. So much for that crush on her…

"What happened to you yesterday?" she asked. "You never met with us."

"Well, I kinda got delayed," said Drew. "The guy I was driving with and I got attacked by those monsters."

"Aww, poor Drew," she said, almost sarcastic. Don't worry, it's not that bad. "Who were you with?"

"His name's Touya Kinomoto," said Drew. "He's a senior, and he's from Japan."

"How do you know him?" asked Ash.

"My mom is friends with his dad," said Drew. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," May said sweetly.

"I hope you're not using me," said Drew.

"I'm not," she said.

"Then why did you ask me about Touya?" he asked, getting determined. They should have been concerned, but Ash and Jimmy were trying to keep from laughing. "What is this about, May?"

"Nothing," she said.

"I'm not an idiot," said Drew. "I know that was you yesterday. I can recognize your hair anywhere; you haven't changed it in years. The trio was panicking. Things were moving way too fast, and May needed to play defense.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said May. "There must be some other girls in this city with the same hair. I'm a popular coordinator, after all." Drew had to admit she had a point, but he wasn't buying it.

"Really?" Drew asked. May knew he had her beat, but she didn't back down.

"Drew, what are you trying to say?"

"Are you a Power Ranger?" As if to make him look stupid, Ash and Jimmy snickered. May rolled her eyes.

"Drew, I have _no _idea what you're talking about," she said. "You're sounding crazy."

"I'm not!" Drew shouted, almost disturbing some other students. "The Yellow Ranger said my name and it sounded like you!"

"Drew, this is crazy," she said. "I was nowhere near you, wherever you were. I was heading back to my house with Ash and Jimmy."

"She's right," said Ash. "Drew, nothing's going on here."

Drew didn't buy it. But his experience as a coordinator told him to be patient. So, he decided to take it down a notch. "All right," he said. "I guess you're innocent." Of course, May didn't buy him, either.

"I'm glad," she said. "Now then, Ash is taking Misty to Cerulean Fair this weekend. Why don't we go?"

"Um, okay," Drew said with a blush. Ash and Jimmy snickered. Now that they had Drew thinking they were innocent, they could talk to Touya… quietly.

"Hey, is Misty sitting by herself?" May asked, looking over at her. She was sitting far away and looking out the window. And it wasn't too far from Deshi and Denchu. May got up and walked over to the red-head. A few minutes later, the two came back to the table.

"Hello, everyone," she said.

"Hi," said Ash.

"I hope you're okay," May said with a smile. "Everyone was worried about you yesterday, Ash especially."

"I got caught up in things, but I was able to get away," said Misty. "I'm sorry I didn't make it."

"That's okay," said May. "Oh, I hear you and Ash are going to Oktoberfest this Saturday."

"Yeah," said Misty. May looked at Ash coyly.

"It's actually some progress," said Misty. "Even when he's 17, he's still obsessed with battling and catching Pokémon." She gave him a dirty look, to which he tried to play innocent.

"What?" he asked.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

As soon as the day ended, Misty bolted from the campus. The remaining football players had to get out of the way while she rushed off campus and onto the tram. Ash, May and Jimmy waited around for Touya. We're going to focus more on our stressed-out female lead, first.

Misty got to the park, which was right across the street (south) from the UC Cerulean campus about 5 minutes early. A bunch of college students taking a break from their classes or to study were all around. It was going to be hard to tell who these girls were. It would be just as hard to hide from all these people. What were those girls thinking, any—what the hell is rubbing against her leg?

She looked down to see the same black cat from yesterday rubbing up against her leg as if it was hers. Okay, why was this cat following her around and why was it acting like she owned it? "Shoo," she said, trying to nudge it away. It just moved away from her. With all the people around, she couldn't kick it, and she wouldn't have kicked it, anyway. She's not cruel!

"Please, kitty," she said. "Please, I don't know why you like me."

"There she is," said a voice behind her. Misty turned around to look. Her head recoiled in confusion and surprise.

"Denchu Risato and Deshi Ginsei?" she asked.

"How do you know our names?" said Deshi.

"My friend told me about you," said Misty. "What are you doing here?"

"We're looking for that cat," said Denchu.

"It's right here," said Misty.

"Why are you here?" said Deshi.

"I'm waiting for someone," said Misty.

"Who?" said Denshu.

"I can't really say," said Misty.

"This is her!" came a voice. Misty looked around, trying to find out where in came from. It didn't sound like Deshi or Denchu, did it?

"Did you say anything?" she asked. Denchu pointed down. Misty wasn't sure, but it looked like she was pointing…

… At the cat.

She looked down. The cat was looking at her. There's no way this cat could be—"She's the new Sailor."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Ash was waiting outside the school for Touya. Most of the seniors had left for Kasey's or home. He kept a low profile, simply waiting while they passed by him. The angle at which they came out, he wasn't even in their peripheral vision. That kind of training is the kind he got from S.H.I.E.L.D., but that's not the biggest thing he learned from them.

Most of the seniors had already left, but Drew told him that he preferred to leave last. This was not out of studiousness. He actually had other reasons, but even Drew didn't know, Touya didn't really talk that much with others, even family friends. But Ash didn't care about that. This was a recruitment visit. And once Touya arrived, well, that's classified information.

He finally spotted Touya walking out of the building. He was talking to some bespectacled white-haired boy. They seemed really close, like best friends, maybe even… Nah! However, they might be keeping it subtle. Ash waited for the gray-haired guy to leave. He was patient. He had to be patient, after all. It's a pretty big departure from his previous, impatient personality.

Finally, the white-haired guy was leaving and Ash decided to make his move. He walked up to Touya and tapped him on his shoulder. "Are you Touya Kinomoto?" he asked.

"Yeah," Touya said a little harshly.

"I want to talk to you about something," said Ash.

"Aren't you Ash Ketchum?" Touya asked. Ash's ego piqued.

"Yes," he said proudly. "Why do you ask?"

"Whatever it is, I'm not interested," said Touya.

"You should be," said Ash.

"Why?" said Touya.

"You'll see," said Ash.

"I don't want vague statements," Touya said as he headed for the parking lot. "I want to know what I'm getting into."

"I can't quite say that," Ash said, walking up to him. Touya looked back. He looked very impatient, like one more sentence out of Ash was going to make him deck the Trainer in the face.

"I barely even know you," said Touya. "And you don't know me. In fact, this is the first time we've met. Why should I go with someone I don't know after what happened yesterday?"

"What happened yesterday has everything to do with why I'm here," said Ash. Touya stopped. Now he had his attention. "I know this is going fast, but I need you to listen to me." He got up near Touya's face. "The world is under threat. I know it sounds strange, but that orc attack yesterday was not random. And I need your help in fighting this off."

Touya looked at Ash in shock. "How did you know about that attack? Who are you?"

"I'm not someone to be trifled with," said Ash. Touya had heard of Ash's idiocy. These kinds of words were big for him. Then, he realized something.

"No wonder Drew was talking about you," he said. Ash nodded. "Now I recognize you. You're that guy who changed red."

"Now what do you think of my offer?" Ash asked.

"What is it?" said Touya, "Because I'm listening."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Is she okay?"

"Luna, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything! She just screamed and fainted!"

"The way she screamed, I though the whole city heard her!"

"I told you to stay quiet!"

"Why?"

"We could have found out who she is on our own!"

All Misty could see was blackness. Pretty soon, she began to find herself coming to. She felt something like bark on her back. She was still a little disoriented, too. She groaned a little and heard footsteps coming her way. "She's waking up!" said one voice. She started to open her eyes. At first, the glare from the sunlight made it hard, but eventually, she was able to open them completely. Once they adjusted, she noticed Deshi and Denchu staring down at her.

"What was that about?" said Denchu.

"What happened?" asked Misty. Denchu sighed.

"You fainted," said Deshi.

"But first you screamed like you saw a ghost," said Denchu. "I can't believe a talking—"

"Well, you certainly scared us," said Deshi. She helped Misty stand up.

"Jeez, I think I saw a talking cat," said Misty.

"You did."

"Luna! Don't faint!" Denchu said, trying to hold the American girl up. "I'm sorry," said Denchu, "But that's Luna. She's our… guide, if you will."

"But a talking cat?" Misty asked. "I've nev—Oh, wait, a talking Meowth." Suddenly, it didn't seem so strange. "Alright, I think I'm okay. So your name's Luna?"

"That's right," said the cat. "I used to be the advisor for Sailor Moon herself."

"You… did?" Luna nodded. "Um… okay…"

"Are you at a loss for words?" Deshi asked. Misty nodded.

"What's going on?" said Misty. "Just this month I was having weird dream—"

"Dreams?" said Deshi.

"Yeah, about some building on the moon," said Misty, "And this person asking me to save the world. I want to know what's going on."

"You're a Sailor now," said Denchu. "You cannot recognize us, but we fought with you yesterday. I am Sailor Thunder."

"And I am Sailor Fire," said Deshi. "I guess you are our third Sailor."

"Great," said Misty. Her shock must have worn off. "Did you two have dreams?"

"Of course," said Deshi. "But Luna found us first."

"We're going to start looking for the other Sailors," said Luna. "And we'll find out just who is attacking."

"Why don't you know?" said Misty. "Shouldn't you guys know these things?"

"I wish I did," said Luna. 'But they're so secretive. All we know are the orcs." Misty groaned and sat back down.

"I'm still trying to figure out what's going on," she said.

"I know, it's confusing," said Denchu. "We were confused, too. But you'll be able to grow into it."

"This has got to be a dream," said Misty. "Please tell me I'm dreaming."

"I wish," said Deshi. "Why do you not go home and rest?"

"Gladly," said Misty. She got up and left, with Luna right behind her. Deshi and Denchu watched.

"Do you think she's the right one?" said Deshi.

"Luna seems to think so," said Denchu. "I want to see if she's ready for this."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Are we there yet?"

"For the last time, no!" Just like Misty, all Touya could see was black. But in this case, it's because he's been blindfolded. He could feel the car swaying from side to side (bad suspension). Ash, Jimmy and May were also in the car. He knew that because they were introduced before he was blindfolded. He was getting annoyed, instead of nervous. Maybe if they knocked him out instead.

Then, the car came to a stop. Now he was confused. He felt someone grab his arm and then rip him out of his seat. "You could have been gentler," said Ash.

"Sorry," said the person.

"You can take the blindfold off now." Touya kind of wished they took their time. Once the bright light faded, his eyes adjusted to the light. And once they were fully adjusted, they widened in surprise.

The place was filled with computers, screens and other gadgets. There were people running around in spysuits, fatigues and business suits. A few people in labcoats were also walking about. The images on the screen showed the spandex-wearing weirdoes he saw yesterday. There were other screens showing those suits and weapons, and even some lockers. "What is this?" he asked.

"This is the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate Cerulean command center," said one woman with a short haircut. "Oh, my apologies, I'm Agent Maria Hill." She held her hand out for Touya to shake, which he did with some apprehension.

"So, where are we?" he asked. "Some garage?"

"No, this is an old hanger from the Cold War," said Agent Hill. "S.H.I.. has been using it since the end of the Cold War."

"So what's this about?" Touya asked.

"Since you volunteered, I might as well tell you," said Agent Hill. "Our three main operatives—Ketchum, McAndrew and Birch—recommended you for their operation."

"What?"

"They want you to be a Power Ranger."

"_What_?"

"Hey, you fight like Bruce Lee," said Jimmy, who was leaning against the wall.

"You take karate?" said May.

"You're the best man for the job," said Ash.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Touya said, waving his arms around. "This is all to fast! Why are you doing this all of a sudden? You don't know anything about me!"

"Au contraire," said May. "Drew told us."

"That dumbass," Touya muttered to himself.

"Well? What do you say?"

Ash watched while Touya stood around. He looked confused, and Ash could tell why. First off, as Touya said himself, this was all happening so fast, so he didn't know what was going on. Second, he didn't even know what exactly he was signing up _for_. "Take your time," said Agent Hill. That certainly helps. It delays things, but it gives Touya less pressure to choose now.

"What is all this?" he asked.

"Good question," said Agent Hill. "I think the professor can explain."

"Professor?"

A screen flashed before a man, much older than Agent Hill, appeared. His hair was wild, like Einstein. Certainly the absent-minded professor type. "Hello," he said in a strange (to Touya) accent. "My name is Professor Gearhead." Ash looked at Agent Hill. She was giving a look at said 'sorry'. "I want to talk to you about ze Ranger Initiative.

"Several years ago, my colleagues and I were developing robotic exoskeletons that could enhance the user's speed and strength. We were trying to find a way to power ze suits through the human body's natural electric output, when we had a breakthrough; a universal bio-electric field or an unseen energy grid zat connects the lifeforce of all living beings."

"What is this guy, a Jedi?" Touya asked.

"Ze discovery and manuiplation of zis bio-electric field allowed us to create our one-of-akind weapons."

Touya heard several lights going on. And there they were; red, blue, yellow, green and black suits just like the ones he saw yesterday. "Ze Ranger Prototype Series Covert Infantry Bio-Suits."

"Because nothing says 'covert' like brightred, yellow and blue spandex," said Jimmy.

"And is not Spandex!" Professor Gearhead shouted. "Ze material is a self-assembling nano-fiber formed with an inter-cellular memory alloy.

Ash watched while Touya stood around. He looked confused, and Ash could tell why. First off, as Touya said himself, this was all happening so fast, so he didn't know what was going on. Second, he didn't even know what exactly he was signing up _for_. "Take your time," said Agent Hill. That certainly helps. It delays things, but it gives Touya less pressure to choose now.

"Why do you need this?" asked Touya.

"It's a good question," said another voice. They turned around to see a man resembling Samuel L. Jackson with a black eye patch over his left eye. "And I'll be happy to answer as much as I can."

"Commander Fury," Agent Hill said with a salute.

"Who are you?" asked Touya.

"I am Nick Fury," he said. "Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Tell him, sir," said Jimmy. "Even the Sailors?"

"Sailors?" Touya asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Several years ago," said Fury, "We received reports of strange activity coming from Tokyo and London. Strange reports about girls dressed in silly costumes. We weren't sure who or what they were, but eventually, even stranger things started.

"We heard about people who would be sapped of all their energy, facing monsters, and eventually, girls wearing sailor outfits calling themselves 'Sailor Moon' or, something like that. We didn't take it seriously, but then it got weird. Black clouds of negative energy right in the middle of Tokyo, and darkness threatening to swallow the Earth whole, even a circus in the middle of the city. We realized we needed a way to fight whatever was going on. So we have Professor Gearhead develop our weapons."

"So why are they here?" Touya asked, pointing at Ash, Jimmy and May.

"They volunteered," said Fury. "We need to fight these things. We don't know what they are, or why they're here. But we are going to fight them."

"And that's where all of you come in," said Agent Hill. "So, Mr. Kinomoto, what do you think?"

Ash looked at Touya. Once again, his face was full of conflict. Ash looked over at Agent Hill and Director Fury. They seemed to be leaving him to his own decision. An agent was waiting with a metal briefcase off to the right. May and Jimmy were looking at each other, just as concerned. Ash kept his serious face. He looked around more.

"Well?" said Fury.

"What is in the briefcase?"

:-:-:-:-:-:-:

When Misty got back, she noticed there was nobody there to challenge her. Of course, she recognized what with her attending high school and all this new superhero work she was going to be doing, it seemed like she wasn't going to have a lot of time. She flipped through the mail; bills, magazine, junk, bills. She dumped them on the counter and walked in the kitchen.

She walked in the kitchen, opened the fridge and got out some milk. She poured a glass and chugged it. After slamming it on the counter, she sighed. She rubbed her face, some thoughts of 'what now?' flashing through her brain when—what is that?

She looked down to see… "Luna! ?"

"Hi!" said the cat.

"What are you doing here!"

"I needed to watch over you," Luna said as she jumped on the table.

"Wait, why me?" Misty asked.

"Because you're the new girl."

"That makes sense," said Misty.

"If you need any help, you can ask me."

"You're really serious?"

"Of course I am." Misty sighed and said,

"So what happens now?"

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

And thus ends the first arc. Well, sort of, we need the second part ready to go.

Sorry if this is a letdown after that big awesome-fest that was the last chapter, but I needed to get some things out of the way. Anyway, Touya Kinomoto is not an OC, nor is he a character created by Deshi, he's from _CardCaptor Sakura_. You should know who he is. Although in this case, he's an American. And sorry if he's the focus, we needed to recruit him.

Again, Deshi and Denchu are credit to the creators of the _Soldier_ project.


	4. Decisions to Make

Even though he took the Rev Morpher, Touya did not join with the Rangers. Even Ash, May and Jimmy were surprised. Why would he take it if he wasn't going to join? Compounding the issue was Touya's refusal to explain why. Agent Hill did tell him he needed to keep quiet about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s activities, but he took an 'I don't give a fuck" attitude instead. Perhaps it was for the best if he didn't care. He wouldn't go blabbing about it to anyone.

But they were disappointed nonetheless. But they could not dwell on it. They still had school and superhero work. And Ash still had that "date" with Misty at Cerulean Fair. Part of the deal was they still had to stay covert and on guard. While it didn't look like there was going to be any orc attacks anytime soon, there needed to be some awareness.

And Ash still had to put on the "idiot trainer" mask. Although, the whole "mask" thing is a matter of opinion. One could simply see it as character development; growing from the kind of person he was when he was 10 to the straight-faced superhero out of necessity. But we're not going to go into some kind of philosophical debate over which "mask" is the true mask. It's a silly debate.

Misty, on the other hand, was getting stressed. It was only a couple of days since she first transformed, and while the dreams had stopped, she had much more to worry about. And she couldn't tell anyone about why she's stressed. The girl didn't want this kind of stress. "There's no good reason why anyone would want to be a superhero", that was her sentiment.

May noticed three days (a Thursday) after the battle in Cerulean. Misty had her head on her desk, looking like she was asleep. She had to switch her eyes between the orange-haired Gym Leader and the teacher every now and then to make sure she wasn't snoring. It wasn't like Misty was in the back of the room; she was right in the second row! If the teacher noticed her…

"Misty," she whispered, nudging her friend. The teacher kept going, talking about Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. "Misty!"

Misty stirred, groaning. May looked back at the teacher. He was writing on the chalkboard with his back to the class. May sighed and tried to get Misty to wake up. She succeeded and—oh, dear.

Misty looked paler than a Seel. "Jeez, Misty!" she whispered. "What's going on?"

Misty froze. She didn't dare break the first rule of superheroes, but it's why she was in this state. She had been painted into a corner. Or had she? There were a few excuses she could make. "I've just been busy," she said. It's a start.

"Really?"

"Yeah, a lot of homework, challengers and the gym—"

"Miss Waterflower, do you have anything to say?" Oops. "Do you know what John Locke said what men are entitled to?"

Oh, crap. May slapped herself. She brought this on herself. "Um…" she paused. Very bad! "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?"

"Close, but wrong," said the teacher. "That was Thomas Jefferson. What John Locke really said, was that man has the power to preserve his life, liberty and estate, or in our terms, property. You would know this if you were paying attention."

"I'm sorry," said Misty.

"I heard you were a diligent student," said the teacher. "Is there something wrong?"

"N-no, sir," she lied. The teacher gave her a skeptical look before going back to his lecture.

"I'm sorry," May mouthed. Misty rubbed her face in shame. This was not good.

The lunch special was baked, breaded chicken; real chicken, not a Pokemon. The cafeteria was crowded, as usual, since this is a big school. Misty just took her time getting her food (including the chicken) with sort of a blank look on her face. Instead of really trying to look cheerful, she just didn't have the energy to do it. Several people actually passed her in the line.

The one who didn't was Jimmy McAndrew, of all people. The Blue Ranger noticed her when he got behind her in line. And while he didn't really know her that well, he did know Ash seemed to be interested in her. It didn't take a genius to recognize she wasn't feeling good, and Jimmy could tell right away. He didn't want to disturb her just yet. He still had to get _his _lunch.

Okay, now they were out of the line. He waited for Misty to set her tray down for some condiments and—"Hey!"

"AAH!"

He just barely blocked her punch. If you think he was shocked, you should have seen _her_. "Dammit, McAndrew!" she seethed.

"Sorry!" he said. "It's just that you didn't look so good, and—"

"I appreciate it," she said, walking away with her tray. Jimmy followed her to her table where May was already waiting.

"What was that about?" May asked. She must have seen everything.

"McAndrew scared me," said Misty.

"It's not my fault!" he said. "She scared me, too!"

"Just be glad we didn't cause a scene," said Misty.

"You did _kinda _cause a scene," said May. "But, everyone just ignored you."

"That's good," said Jimmy. "May, have you noticed her?"

"It's not hard to notice," said May. "She's been acting like this all day."

"Guys, it's fine," said Misty. "It's not like—"

"Hello," Misty froze. May looked at Jimmy, who shrugged. They looked to see two girls; one with short blonde hair another with long blonde hair. "I'm sorry, are we interrupting?" The one with long blonde hair said.

"…No…" said Jimmy. "Who are you guys?"

"I think I know who they are," said May. "They're the girls who were staring at Misty a couple days. Denchu Risato is the one with long hair, and Deshi Ginsei has short hair."

"Right," said Jimmy. The two sat down next to Jimmy and May. "You know, I think I recognize them now," said Jimmy, "Especially Denchu."

"Drop dead," said Denchu.

"Sorry Jimmy," said May. "So… what are you guys doing here?"

"All of the other tables are full," said Deshi. Well, she wasn't lying.

"Okay, but you scared Misty," said May. "Did you do anything to her?"

"No," said Deshi. "Is she—"

"I dunno," said Jimmy.

"Maybe she's worried about this Saturday," said May. "Her friend is taking her to Cerulean Fair, wink, wink."

"May!" said Misty.

"She's awake!" said May.

"Who, him?" asked Denchu.

"My name is Jimmy!" he said.

"No, not him," said May. "I wonder where he is, he usually eats with us."

"I think he said he had something to take care of," said Jimmy. "And there's somebody else we recognize."

"Who?" asked May.

"Touya Kinomoto," said Jimmy. Now it was Deshi's turn to freeze, and she was blushing like a bright red apple. "Is she okay?"

"She probably knows him," May chuckled.

"I've heard of him," said Misty. "He's a senior. And I hear he's probably gay."

"Gay! ?" said Jimmy.

"Yeah, he's always hanging out with that gray-haired guy, what's his name?" said May. "The gray-haired guy with the glasses."

"I don't know, maybe they're just friends," said Misty.

"That's what they all say," said May.

"May, reality is _not _a yaoi manga!" said Misty. "And it's not a romantic comedy, either! Should we tease you about Drew?"

"Why?" said Jimmy. "I do—Ooohhh!"

"Sh-shut up!" she said with a blush. "Wh-what about those Sailors?"

"Sailors?" said Denchu. "What is she talking about?"

"What, you mean you missed that big mess on Monday?" asked Jimmy.

"No, I didn't miss it," said Denchu. "I just don't know why she's talking about Sailors. What is she talking about, anyway?"

"I noticed an article online," said May. "It had a blurb about these 'Sailor' characters. It tried to link them to Sailor Moon."

"I have no idea what you are talking about," said Denchu. It almost sounded… defensive, and hostile.

"I _was_ about to say I think it's a load of junk," said May. "But we had those orcs running around; maybe there is some crazy stuff out there."

"I'd better hope those are Sailors," said Jimmy.

"Sailors!" said Misty. "I used to believe in them, but now I don't."

"Why not?" asked May.

"Well, look at them!" said Misty. "They're running around in leotards that look like Japanese schoolgirl uniforms, are they supposed to be threatening? And what about some sickos out there who _like_, if you know what I mean, schoolgirl uniforms," If she's gonna deny her involvement, might as well go the whole nine yards! "It's silly!"

"When you put it that way," said May.

"What are you talking about?"

Deshi turned redder than a tomato. Misty could almost call her Deshi the red-faced girl. "Should we call Santa?" said May. "I we found Rudolph's replacement!"

"Is she okay?" asked Touya.

"I think so," said Jimmy. "Did you do anything with her?"

"SHUT UP!" Deshi screamed.

"She always acts like this around me," Touya said with a sly smile.

"Oh, I get it, you two know each other," said May. Her evil little mind was already thinking up possibilities.

"Oh yeah," said Touya. Deshi looked like she wanted to die.

"Shut up!" she said.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"So wait, this Deshi girl knows Touya?" Ash asked during his and May's free period outside the school building

"Yeah, and you should have seen her face when he showed up!" said May. "She looked like Rudolph's replacement!"

"You already said that," said Jimmy.

"And why did you mention the Sailors?" said Ash. "Are you trying to blow our cover?"

"I thought they had an idea," said May. "I guess the public doesn't know about them yet."

"They got more important things, like a Presidential election to worry about," said Ash.

"And we couldn't say anything to Touya," said May. "We weren't about to break the first rule of superheroes in the middle of the cafeteria."

"By the way, did you try to get to Kinomoto earlier?" asked Jimmy.

"No," said Ash. "I don't even cross paths with him."

"Dang," said Jimmy, "And what about May's boyfriend?"

"He is not—"

"Forget about Drew," said Ash. "If he starts talking, we'll have to deal with him."

"I should have invited him to take down Team Rocket," said May. "Then we wouldn't be in this mess."

"May, you can't blame yourself," said Ash. "I know it's crazy, but we could…"

"You're shitting us," said Jimmy. "Even May said he's a lover, not a fighter."

"He carries a rose around," said May.

"I know," said Ash. "I just thought it would be a good idea. Oh, and Fury called me. He said S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't detected any enemy movement yet."

"Team Rocket was easier," said Jimmy.

"We weren't Power Rangers back then," said Ash. "But I see your point. Let's split up, we have to get to class."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

It took all of Misty's inner strength to get through the rest of the day. But she also wondered what she was doing. Was she hurting her friends by hiding her troubles? Was she turning her back on those she cared about? Ugh, it was making things worse. She nearly cheered aloud when the bell finally ended the day and she bolted for her locker, then the exit. She was on her bike before anyone noticed.

She got back to the Gym 15 minutes after school ended; record time. She sighed, dropping her backpack on the floor and sitting down on a couch in the lobby. She noticed the mail lying on the floor. Oh well, might as well pick it up. Bills, junk, bills; Great, probably from the city asking about the water. Ugh, Cerulean was being a pain in the ass.

She grabbed an orange juice from the fridge and poured a glass. She gulped it down in a matter of seconds. She let out a satisfied sigh and walked out of the kitchen and upstairs to her bedroom to do her homework, lugging her backpack up with her. But she was sorely mistaken if she though she was going to get some peace and quiet.

Misty dropped the backpack by her desk and sat down at the seat. She looked out at the city skyline and some UCC buildings in the distance. Birds (including Pokemon) were chirping, creating a relaxing environment that Misty loved. She could work with this. She opened up her backpack and took out her binder, taking out the pieces of homework she needed to get done before she could do any other gym-related paperwork.

She went to work immediately. Her pencil flew over the paper. She tried to get her work done as quickly as possible, but trying to make sure she was doing it right. She's a studious girl, although that may have been mentioned by now. She wanted to do well in school and get into Berkley (although UCC would probably work fine). She ignored all other outside stimuli, not even a bullet whizzing past her face could break her concentration. But, as she got close to being done, that was about to change.

Just a few more sentences and… "Hey!"

"GAH!" Misty was lucky she fell on her backside, since her head just missed the bed.

"I'm so sorry!" said Luna. "Are you okay?"

"Well my ass hurts like hell!" she said. "But other than that, I'm fine!"

"I didn't want you to get hurt," said the black cat.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" asked Misty.

"I came to make sure you were okay," said the cat. "Denchu told me you looked terrible today."

"Probably because of this whole 'Sailor' thing!" said Misty.

"Do you even _want _to be a Sailor?" asked Luna.

"Can't say it's been a dream of mine," said Misty.

"But you said you had strange dreams," said Luna. "What was in them?"

"A palace on the moon and some girl calling her a princess," said Misty.

"Then you will make a great Sailor," said Luna.

"Excuse me?" Misty said in an agitated voice.

"I'm sorry!" Luna pleaded. "Don't hurt me!"

"Oh, forget it," said Misty. "It's just that you interrupted me while I was doing my homework."

"The last person I guided hated doing homework," said Luna. "She had a good heart, but she was lazy."

"Well I'm a gym leader," said Misty. "I'm really busy, so I'm not sure how I can be a Sailor."

"And you don't want to be a Sailor?" Luna asked, jumping on the bed. Misty got a little annoyed, but she did let Marill on that bed of hers.

"No," Misty confirmed. "And you know, I'm not used to having a cat on my bed."

"Sorry," said Luna.

"But do you know anything about those monsters that attacked on Monday?"

"No," Luna said, shaking her head. "My contacts are not sure, either. You'll have to find out for yourself."

"Damn," said Misty. "What about those Power Rangers?"

"I didn't know they even existed!" said Luna. "I don't know where they came from!"

"You gotta be kidding me!"

"I'm not kidding," said Luna.

"Jeez," said Misty.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"Come on, what's taking so long?"

"It's a damn moon rock, what's so bad about it?"

"Not just any ordinary moon rock."

"Whatever, they're all the same, valuable!"

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

Ash didn't have a black cat coming into his mom's new house in Cerulean to interrupt him so he was able to get his homework done pretty quickly. Now I know what you're thinking: 'Wait, Ash did his homework? And his mom lives in Cerulean?' Okay, first off, Ash is smarter here. Second, his mom agreed to move to Cerulean so he could go to high school. It's the same story with May. As for Jimmy, well, there's more on him later.

He stretched in triumph, a little bit of his old self sneaking through. He never really changed that much, anyway. Oh, I must make another note: His mom owned the house, but she didn't live there about 75% of the time. She still kept her main residence in Pallet, but would spend time in Cerulean with him. It's actually money he won for an old State Championship, but he gave about half to her. So she bought the house and he lives there.

The young S.H.I.E.L.D. agent did have a gripe, though. When his mom was around, he always had something good to eat. Instead, he has to microwave some crap, which is why Delia was starting to teach him how to cook for himself. Even Pikachu thought it was bad. Of course, he had some ketchup, so he couldn't quite complain.

The meal in question was your average TV dinner. A bit of Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes and corn mixed with peas and carrots. This is what kids eat, not a teenaged superhero! Taking a bite out of his steak, he had to wonder if he had it okay. Yeah, he's got things okay. He just needs to learn how to cook a real Salisbury steak. "PikaPi!" Pikachu said as he licked his ketchup.

"You like it?" he asked.

"Pi-KA!"

"Good for you," he said. He went back to his steak and didn't take long to eat it—is his phone ringing? He took out his Cell Shift Morpher. "Go ahead."

"_Rangers_, _we've got a situation,_" said Nick Fury. "_There's been a robbery at the UC Cerulean Geology Museum._"

"What was taken?" asked Ash.

"_A moon rock,_" said Fury. "_Get over there now. It's just a couple of hoods, so you won't have any trouble._"

"Got it," said Ash. He got up, grabbed his Ranger jacket and a pair of sunglasses.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"We have a problem!" said Luna. "There's two monsters and some orcs en route to the University of California at Cerulean campus!"

"UCC?" Misty asked. "How do you know this?"

"Don't ask how, just listen to me!" said Luna. "This is your chance!"

"What if I don't want to take it?" asked Misty.

"Why not?" asked Luna.

"Let those other girls handle it, not me!" said Misty. "I still haven't decided if I want to do this!" 

"But you've already transformed!" said Luna. "This is your destiny!"

"I make my own destiny!" said Misty. "I'll decide if I want to continue or not on my own." Luna lowered her head in disappointment. She couldn't force her to do this.

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

The hoodlums who robbed UC Cerulean not only had the cops on their hands, but a nasty bunch of orcs, too; a small, but ravenous bunch of orcs, anyway. You would not want to be in their shoes at this point in time. Even in their car, which had just been shot with an arrow, they weren't safe. The only option was to abandon the vehicle and escape on foot. And even then, it wasn't easy. "Come on, man!" said one bandit. "Let's just ditch this thing!"

It was easy to ditch, anyway. The car crashed into the sign at the gate to the campus. The trio that had broken into the museum scrambled out of the car. The orcs that were behind them were attacking the cops at the entrance to campus. So now they had a chance to escape.

Oh, but this day just kept getting worse. Two monsters, one looking like an anthropomorphic Ursaring and another looking like a woman confronted them. "It's just three common crooks!" said the Ursaring monster. "Why are we dealing with them?"

"We just want to have a little fun," said the female monster.

"DROP THE BAG, MAN!"

"Now way!" said the lead crook. He pulled out his pistol and fired a couple of shots at the monsters. They didn't work. "Shit, run!"

"After them," the female monster said with a bored look on her face. The Ursaring took off in pursuit with the orcs.

Meanwhile, a TV crew was setting up near the campus. Several cops were putting up a roadblock to stop the crooks. If only they knew what was coming… from both directions. But their focus was on the front. They readied themselves for the hoodlums' car. The sergeant got his bullhorn ready. They were due almost any second and—what the hell is that?

The orcs had nearly caught the hoodlums. The cops panicked and started to retreat when—"_RPM, Get in Gear!_" They looked behind to see the Rangers jump right over their heads and engaged the orcs.

They made quick work of the orcs. They must have been a weak bunch, because they barely even put up a fight. They must have been after the hoodlums. Speaking of which, they dropped the satchel they were using to carry the moon rocks they'd stolen. Ash could only guess they'd decided they'd be better off if they went with the police, because they were quickly apprehended.

"So who's he supposed to be?" Jimmy asked about the Ursaring monster.

"A mutated Ursaring," said May, "How original."

"Stay sharp," said Ash. The Ursaring monster beat its chest and charged the trio. "Scatter!" The trio scattered. Ash pulled out his Nitro Blaster. He inserted his red Engine Cell and let off a couple of shots. Sparks flew as the Ursaring growled in pain. May rushed in, jumping off a mailbox and kicking the Ursaring monster in the muzzle. Jimmy finished the round off by shooting the monster twice.

"GRRRAAAAHHHH! ! ! ! !" The Ursaring monster roared. The circle on its chest started to glow. It fired a Hyper Beam-like attack from its mouth, causing a big explosion.

At the same time, Touya had happened to turn the TV to the station where they were showing off the attack. The Ursaring monster was tearing through the Rangers like they were paper. Something inside Touya snapped. Without thinking, he grabbed the Rev Morpher and darted out of his house.

Meanwhile, the female monster was strolling along, terrorizing Cerulean's civilians like it was a Tuesday. It's a Wednesday, but that doesn't matter. She used a sort of acidic substance as her main attack from her arms. The terrified Californians got out of there quickly. The monster laughed evilly like any good villain would do. She was having a twisted sort of fun.

Of course, it's about to come to an end.

"Stop right there!"

"What?"

"I don't know what you're doing, but it must end!" said Thunder. "I am the Soldier of thunder and lightning, Sailor Thunder!"

"And I am the Soldier of Flame, Sailor Fire!"

"And in the name of Thunder,"

"And Fire,"

"_We shall punish you!_"

"And just _how _is that supposed to intimidate me?" said the monster. "The Master might be afraid of you, but I'm not! _DIE_, Sailors!" She whipped out that deadly weapon known as her arm and fired a beam of energy at the two Sailors. They jumped out of the way while a mailbox was blown up.

"Stunning Lightning!" Thunder shouted. The monster had other ideas. She punched Thunder right in the cheek.

"Fire Ba—AAH!"

"Don't you Sailors know how to _fight_?" the monster taunted. "GAH!" That was answered by Thunder giving her a right cross to the cheek.

"How's that?" said Thunder.

The monster stopped, holding her mouth. She looked at her hand. Then she looked at the two Sailors and gave them the most evil and terrifying smirk they'd seen in their lives. A little bit of what must have been blood was trickling out of the sides of her mouth. Fire could feel a chill run down her spine. "Well now," she said. "It seems like our little Sailors know how to throw a punch."

"This is bad," said Fire.

"DIE! ! !"

Speaking of fighting, the Rangers were pinned down by a new group of orcs that had shown up. They were doing their best to keep the Ursaring monster in the area. And part of that involved going after the burlap sack (Jimmy: "I hate that cliché!"). In desperation, May made a dash for the sack. She dove to grab it right as one orc reached for it. She made it just in time. She tucked it under her arm like a football and made a break for it.

Ash gave her some cover, letting off a couple shots with his Nitro Blaster. He missed, but it allowed May to leave the sack in a place where she wouldn't forget it. The cops were all gone, anyway, so she didn't leave it with them. She nodded and gave Ash the thumbs-up before going back to fighting the orcs.

Jimmy kept the Ursaring monster busy. He grappled with the Ursaring to keep it in place. Unfortunately, the Ursaring monster is still stronger than him, even with the Ranger suit. And after all, bears are Godless Killing Machines (wink). Ursaring threw Jimmy to the side like a ragdoll. A burst of sparks coming from the Ursaring monster allowed Jimmy to escape and get back up.

The Ursaring monster roared and lowered itself, charging like a linebacker. Jimmy jumped out of the way and the Ursaring monster crashed into an orc. May cringed. It had to hurt like hell.

The Ursaring monster got up. The ring on its chest began to glow. "Oh, shit," said Ash. "Sc—" _KA-BOOM!_

The resulting explosion sent the Rangers (and several orcs) flying in all directions. The Rangers landed _hard_. Ash could feel like his tailbone had cracked, even though his helmet HUD said he didn't. Still, it hurt! He struggled to get up when the Ursaring monster stepped on his hand. About 300 lbs. of humanoid bear pressing down on his hand _really _hurt.

"The Master doesn't like interference," said the monster, "Especially from the likes of you." It stepped of Ash's and walked over to the mailbox, grabbed the sack and then—

"Hey, you!" The monster turned around. The other Rangers looked in the same direction to see—

"Kinomoto?" said Jimmy.

"About damn time," said Ash.

Touya took his Engine Cell and inserted it into the wrist-mounted Rev Morpher. "RPM! Get in Gear!" he shouted, revving the morpher and punching the air. In a flash of purple light, he transformed into the newest Ranger, the Black Ranger.

"Get him!" the Ursaring monster shouted, not even bothering to find out whom he is. The orcs charged Touya. Now it was time for Touya to prove himself.

He tore through the orcs like a man possessed. Whether it was the suit or the orcs didn't know his fighting style, he made it look easy. He punched the lights out of all the orcs he came across. He kicked and swept them away, blocking punches and swords. He ducked, dodging a sword and punched the offending orc in the gut. He punched an orc in the face, and finished off the next one. He side kicked the final orc and went straight for the Ursaring monster.

Said monster growled and shoved the burlap sack at the nearest orc. It charged at Touya and met him halfway.

Not wanting to be out done by the newbie, Ash signaled to his experienced teammates. They understood what he was trying to say and stood up. Jimmy rushed the orc, tackling it and sending the sack flying, allowing May to rush in and grab it out of mid-air. "Got it!" she shouted.

"Great!" said Ash, "Let's finish this!"

Meanwhile, Touya was busy grappling with the Ursaring monster. The two were locked in an epic struggle between man and monster. The Ursaring monster had the upper hand due to its sheer strength. But Touya had a bit of luck on his own and grabbed his Nitro Blaster. He shot the monster once, getting it off of him. Now it was the others' turn. "Road Blaster!" they shouted, giving Touya the signal to get out of the way. Ash inserted Jimmy's blue Engine Cell into the Turbo Cannon.

"FIRE!" he shouted, pulling the trigger and launching the Zip Charger. The Ursaring monster couldn't do anything and it exploded on contact.

"Wow," Touya said as Ash walked over to the bag, picking it up. He dumped the contents out.

"Just a moon rock," he said.

"Why would those robbers be after a moon rock?" asked May.

"It's valuable," said Ash. "Let's get this back to the museum and return this thing."

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:

"_Pease_, Misty!" Luna begged. "They need your help!"

"No, they don't," said Misty. There was doubt in that voice. "Th-they're fine, they can do this without me."

Luna continued to watch the situation with Sailor Thunder and Fire. She too looked concerned. Well, actually, way more than concerned. She was nearly terrified for the two. Misty watched and listened nervously. The sounds of Thunder and Fire's screams filled the room. At some point Misty started to wonder if she was killing them herself. And Luna's pleas for them to hang on were not helping.

Misty had to wonder if she could sit back and watch any more. She knew that girls who were fighting were her own schoolmates and if they died in action… hoo boy. Now she was starting to realize how selfish she was being. There's a time when someone realizes that they must act themselves and Misty had that moment. While Luna was distracted, Misty walked out of the room and rushed to the battle scene.

The monster was laughing evilly. Maleficent would be proud. She had the Sailors on the ropes. She knew how to handle two Sailors who, combining their attacks, could not bring her down. Thunder and Fire were growing desperate. They panted while taking cover from the monster. If only Misty could put aside any doubts and join them. They needed her now! "I should go and find Ursamauler, he should have the gem by now!"

"Gem?" said Thunder. "What is she talking about?"

"DIE!" She fired her beams at the two. They jumped out of the way.

"Stunning Lightning!" Thunder tried to get an attack off. The monster used its beam to block the attack.

"Fire Ball!" This one hit the target. The monster felt the hot flames on its back. It turned around and fired at Fire. She jumped out of the way, but caught the tail end of the attack.

"Fire!" Thunder shouted before she was swatted by the monster.

It had taken her five minutes, but Misty managed to reach the intersection where the Sailors were fighting the monster. She hopped off her bike and ran to take cover, watching the action unfold. She reached for the transformation stick. She hesitated. But the sounds of Fire's screams made her think otherwise. "Water Elemental Power… Make-UP!"

"Come ON, I want to have a little fun before I kill you!" The monster shouted. Thunder looked like she was ready to tear the monster to shreds. She started to move when—

"Hold it!" They turned around to see—"I am the Soldier of Water, Sailor Ocean! And in the name of the Seas, I shall punish you!" _Do I REALLY have to say that?_ She thought.

"Damn girl!" said the monster. "Oh well, I can kill three of you!"

"Tidal… WAVE!" Ocean (Misty) swung her arm and unleashed a torrent of water at the monster. The water struck the monster before she could fire her arm beam.

"Stunning Lightning!" shouted Thunder.

"Wait!" said Fire. "I have an idea. Fire Ball!" The monster felt the searing hot flames burning her skin.

"Tidal… WAVE!" While it was a relief, it was considerable pain getting drenched by Misty's attack.

"Stunning Lightning!" And to finish it off, Thunder unleashed her lightning. But despite all that, she wasn't dead.

"You little bitches!" she growled. "The Master will have their way with you! Just you wait!"

"What do we do?" asked Ocean.

"I have an idea," said Fire. "All at once, ready! Fire Ball!"

"Tidal… WAVE!"

"Stunning Thunder!" The monster screamed in terror before she was incinerated.

They stood there in the middle of the street as the remains of the monster smoldered. Misty knew things would never be the same now. "Thank you," said Thunder. "You've proven yourself… for now, anyways."

"Thanks," said Ocean. "I guess."

"Thank _you_," said Fire. "You helped us out. And forgive Thunder, she just doesn't trust people."

"Okay," said Misty. "What was she talking about?"

"I don't know," said Thunder. "But we're going to find out."

:-:-:-:End chapter:-:-:-:

Hey guys, it's me, sorry I'm late. It's just that I've been kind of busy for the past month, what with the job search and all. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I'll try and get it up as soon as I can.

Again, Sailors Thunder and Fire are not mine, but they belong to the Soldier Project.


	5. Cerulean Fair

Leather jackets are badass.

There's something about that black leather that draws the eyes to it. It's probably why it's so popular in hard rock, punk and heavy metal circles. There's also the biker factor, too. If you get the right person to wear any kind of leather jacket, their badass quotient increases 200%. The risk is that you're going to look like the Fonz, but it's a good idea to take the chance and wear the jacket. There's a good chance you're gonna look like a badass.

"Dude, he looks awesome," Jimmy said as he, Ash and May looked at Touya in his new black Ranger jacket. "You're gonna get so many chicks, dude… even though you can't wear it all the time."

"It's okay," said Touya. "Why do we have these three rings on the elbow?"

"Eh, they're just trimming," said Jimmy. "The real highlight is on the symbol on the back."

"They don't look like Ramones jackets," said Touya.

"Those jackets restrict movement," said Commander Fury. "I think the lighter leather works better."

"So commander," said Ash. "What was so special about that moon rock?"

"It was from the Apollo 11 mission," said Fury. "Naturally a common criminal would want to obtain it. An item like that would fetch a lot of money on the collectors' black market."

"Then why were those orcs and monster after them?" said May.

"That I am not sure about," said Fury. "My assumption is they simply happened upon them. The world is not as connected as you think. There is such a thing as coincidence, after all."

"Yeah, but they were trying to _get _the rock," said Ash. Fury paused.

"That makes things different," said Fury. "I'll have to warn the National Guard and they'll warn the Cerulean Police. You just keep doing your thing."

"Great," said Jimmy. "What about that other monster? She might be running around somewhere."

"She disappeared," said Agent Hill.

"Disappeared?" said May. "How?"

"We haven't found out yet," said Agent Hill. In her defense, it's only been an hour since they beat the Ursaring monster. "Although we do have reports it was destroyed. We're not sure about whom, though. Hopefully, the news reports will be better at this than us."

"Well why don't you know?" said Jimmy.

"Two reasons," said Agent Hill. "First, the area was evacuated after the monster arrived. Second, the cameras at the intersections were destroyed, so we have no footage. We have people in the vicinity asking around, but we have to wait until they come back with their report."

"Anything else?" said Fury. He noticed the trio stayed silent. "You can state the obvious."

"They think we're crap," said Jimmy. "Apparently, we're not even worth their time."

"They talked about this 'Master'," said May. "I wonder who that is?"

"Just don't worry about it for now," said Fury. "We'll have to monitor the University Geology Museum. In the meantime, I hear you kids have homework to do."

"Did you have to remind me?" asked Jimmy.

"You guys are still teenagers," said Fury. "Go ahead, be teenagers and have fun, especially on Saturday."

"All right, all right!" Jimmy complained while being pushed out of the room by Touya and Ash. May followed behind trying not to laugh.

"What did he say about Saturday?" Ash asked while May pushed him out, too.

"Sir?" asked Agent Hill.

"Warn every jewelry store within the city limits," he said. "I'm not sure what the enemy wants, but they're not going to get it."

* * *

><p>"And this is Cerulean Gym," Misty said as she opened the door for Deshi and Denchu. "It's not a palace, but it's home."<p>

"It's a nice place," said Denchu. "You didn't tell me how nice this place was."

"Well, I had to share it with my sisters for years," said Misty. "And they drove me crazy, with, like, their like, Valley Girl-ish-ness."

"You actually sounded like one," said Deshi. "I guess that's what you get for living with them."

"It's not something I'm proud of," Misty replied. "I haven't started to make dinner yet, but I have some stuff in the kitchen if you want anything."

"Do you have any Greek yogurt?" asked Denchu.

"I think I have some strawberry yogurt," said Misty. "There's probably two left."

"It's fine," said Denchu. "Is Luna with you?"

"She's upstairs," said Misty. "Why don't I show you my room?" She led

the two girls upstairs into the room she stayed in. As soon as she opened the door, a familiar black cat was waiting for them.

"I see you three did well," she said.

"Luna, how long have you been there?" asked Denchu.

"About 30 minutes," Luna said as she jumped off the bed. "Did Misty do well?"

"She really helped us," Deshi said as she and Denchu sat down on either a chair or the floor. Misty sat down at her desk.

"So, now that we're all here," she said. "I have one question to ask: What… is going… on?"

"I… don't… know," Denchu said almost mockingly. "We don't know _what _is going on, we don't know _who _is attacking, we don't know _when _they decided to attack, we don't know _why _they are here, and we don't know _where _they came from. All we know is _that _they are attacking and _how _they are doing it. That's the whole story, Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. Do you want anything else?"

"I'm the new person, not a noob," said Misty. "At least I'm getting the hang of this."

"The one who sent me can't give me any information about the enemy," said Luna. "All she knows is that they're dangerous."

"Great, an unknown enemy," said Deshi. "Why can't we know who our enemy is?"

"I'm afraid they were very secretive," said Luna. "We don't know anything about them. But as soon as I receive anything, I will make sure you know."

"Thanks," said Misty. "But what about the Power Rangers?"

"What about them?" said Denchu. "I don't care about them!"

"I don't know anything about them either!" said Luna.

"You're serious?" asked Misty. "Some help you are!"

"Forget about the Power Rangers!" Deshi interjected.

"We could prepare for the enemy," said Luna. "We could foresee them. No one foresaw these 'Power Rangers'."

"Foresee, you mean you _saw _these orcs coming?" asked Misty.

"Well, in a sense, yes," said Luna.

"Can you foresee who they are with your great knowledge?"

"No," said Luna.

"So we're stuck trying find out who they are?"

"Correct."

Misty paused, staying silent for a couple minutes and then, "My cat guide is incompetent!"

"My job is not to predict the future. My job is to guide you," said Luna, "To become the great heroes you can be."

"Really, now? This should be fun," said Misty.

* * *

><p>It was Saturday, close to noon. Misty was waiting in the gym lobby looking <em>very <em>annoyed.

Her arms were crossed, her eyebrows furrowed and her legs crossed. Yeah, she's annoyed. Why? Well, it's kind of complicated. She's got some place to go to and it's with someone. Is it a date? Well, it could be considered one. It's sort of how you look at it. And I'm going to explain very shortly:

Remember, after the first attack on Cerulean, Ash asked Misty to go with him to Cerulean Fair. Well, today's the day. And good ol' Ashy-Boy is running late. Why? Why are you asking? Of course she doesn't know! And to make it worse, Psyduck was suffering from a _really _bad headache. It was so bad, she pretty much felt sorry for the thing she caught when she was 10 in Fresno (canonically known as Celadon. Yeah, that's right. I did that! What, it's in California!)

"Psy, yi, yi," it said. It looked like it was in agony.

"Jeez," she said, wiping the duck's head with a cold washcloth. "Why didn't you evolve?" She sounds mean, but she really cares for that thing. Kind of like you-know-who. "Ash, when are you going to get here?" she said to herself.

Out of boredom she turned on the TV to coverage of Cerulean Fair. She immediately switched it to something else. Pokemon battles… football… cartoons… isn't there anything good on right now? Waiting wouldn't be as bad if there was something good to do besides care for her agonizing Psyduck.

But she remembered there might be some Pokemon painkillers somewhere in the gym. The best spot to find them would be in the kitchen, where she kept most of the Pokemon medications. Let's see, there's stuff for Gyarados, Seel, Ah-ha! All-purpose Pokemon painkiller! This should work.

"Okay, hold on," she said after Psyduck started moaning again. For a 'mon about Psyduck's size it would take about one to alleviate the headache. For Psyduck though, not only was it extra strength, she needed _three _just to—_DING-DONG! _That'd better be you-know-who! She grabbed the bottle, rushed to the door, and opened it. "Hi, Misty!"

He was standing there, giving that same goofy, idiotic smile. She just stood there with her arms crossed and a look of disapproval. It was enough to make him nervous. In the old days, she would have accosted him verbally to no end. Nowadays, however, she's found a _much _more effective way of telling him he sucks. "Um, I'm not too late, am I?"

"I don't know," she said. "Didn't you say you were going to get here at noon?"

"Um… yeah?"

"Do you know what time it is?"

"It's 12:15?"

"Well? Are you late?"

"… Yes. Hey, what's wrong with Psyduck?"

"His headache's worse than normal," Misty said, remembering her ailing Psyduck. "So why _are _you late, Mr. Ketchum? Did you forget about me?"

"No, I didn't," he said. "Um, you know, I've never been to Cerulean Fair. Is it fun?"

"Yeah, it's okay," she said, popping a couple pills into Pysduck's bill. "I probably won't spoil much for you, since you said you want to find out what it's like for yourself. But my parents would take me an my sisters when we were kids."

"Did you have fun?"

"Of course I did," she said. "It's one of my fondest memories of them before they…"

"Misty, I'm sorry if this is making you—"

"No, it's fine," said Misty. "That should make Psyduck feel better."

"Shall we get going?" Ash asked.

"I have to be ready first," she said. Ash cringed. He had enough experience with how long it took for a woman to get ready. Luckily for him (in more than one way, especially if he said that out loud) she only took a few moments to get ready. "Okay, let's go."

"What about Psyduck?"

"He should be fine. I asked a friend to come over and take care of him."

"Um, okaayy…"

"Now let's go!" she said, grabbing him by the elbow and dragging him out of the gym. "You brought your car, right?"

"Well, yeah—"

"Good! Now let's get going!"

* * *

><p>Ash parked the car somewhere in the middle of the grass-covered parking lot. Misty got out as soon as he put the car in 'park' and he came out second with Pikachu hopping on his shoulder. He put the parking pass on his windshield and waited for Misty to get her hoodie on.<p>

The skies were a clear blue, a typical California scene. It was warm, but since Misty was wearing a hoodie, it was a little chilly, but more jeans weather. Either way, it was still a nice day out. A light, almost non-existent breeze was blowing, just barely making Misty's hair flutter. Ash was relieved there was not a cloud in the sky. The weatherman had been predicting rain for Saturday all week.

"Come on!" she said. She'd already gotten a head start on him.

"Hey, wait up!" he called out.

There was a faint smell of popcorn in the air. The sounds of the fair—a few guests screaming on the tilt-a-whirl, for example—could be heard in the distance. Misty could already spot the temporary roller coaster they built just for the fair. There were rumors they might make it permanent. It looked pretty fun. Misty was already thinking of ways to drag-and-or-push Ash onto the roller coaster. He'd hated them ever since the Pokemon Land incident (the island with the giant robot Pokemon).

Ash (kind of) sighed in relief when he saw how much ticket prices cost. Only 7 bucks to get in. He paid the ticket for both him and her (like a gentleman) and the two entered the fairgrounds.

The fairgrounds, located on the southeast edge of the city (on the opposite side of the university campus) were clean (that's good) and smelled like corn dogs and popcorn. Sort of like any typical American fairground. There were rides, game booths, food stands, events, livestock competition, so basically it's your typical American fair. It's not a county fair, not even close. It's a city fair.

Misty linked her arm with Ash's causing him to blush like a California strawberry. She didn't notice. She seemed more interested in the rides and games. "Come on, let's get some ride tickets!" she said, dragging him to the ticket booth.

"Misty!" he called. "Take it easy!" Hey, who's the Power Ranger here?

"Oh, stop!" she said. "I'm gonna get you on that roller coaster!"

"Roller coast—wait, Mis-ty!"

As Misty dragged Ash through the fair, they were being followed by May and a very annoyed Jimmy. "You know, I could be watching the Illini today," he said.

"You can go without them for one day!" she said.

"Hey, I never missed a game when I was in Champaign!" he said. "I'm not gonna—"

"You can miss one game!" she said.

"You know, if they catch you, you're in big trouble," he said while she walked over to a corn dog stand.

"So what!" she said. "I've seen enough anime to know what to do. I'm keeping my distance."

"You watch too much anime," said Jimmy.

"WOOOOHOOOOO! ! !"

"YAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! ! !"

Ash knew he shouldn't have gone on the roller coaster. The last time he was on one, he was nearly killed by giant robotic Pokemon, after all. Luckily for him though, it was a small steel roller coaster. But he was hoping he wouldn't blow chunks or worse on this hell ride. Misty, meanwhile, well, she was having a blast.

"COME ON, ASH! IT'S NOT THAT BAD!" She shouted.

"EASY FOR YOU TO SAAAAYYY! ! !"

"Wow," Jimmy said, watching the chaos unfold while munching on a corn dog. "He looks like he's having fun."

"I wonder if I should go on that," said May.

"LAAAND! !" Ash cried as soon as he got off the ride. Misty looked around to make sure no one was looking. Maybe a carnie, but that was it.

"Okay, let's go," she said. "You're having a corn dog."

"Thank you," he said.

"Damn!" May said, noticing they were coming in their direction. "Scatter!"

"What?" Jimmy asked before being yanked away from the path. They ducked behind a booth right as Ash and Misty walked—or stumbled, in Ash's case—past. "I feel sorry for him. What's with you?"

May looked like she was about to burst into a chorus of squees. "Hey, save that for some other time!" he said, grabbing her by the collar.

Ash licked his lips (letting some of his old personality show) while waiting for the corn dog lady to hand him a bit of corn-battered heaven. The lady handed the corn dogs to him while he handed the money (exact change) over. He handed one to Misty. "Cheers," he said. He opened his mouth and took a big bite. Dang! That's a good corn dog. What, you thought I was gonna be dirty?

You sick bastards!

"How do you like your corn dog?" Misty asked.

"It's good!" he replied. It was especially good after the chaos of the roller coaster. It was nice to calm down. Maybe later he could—hey wait a minute! "How come we didn't eat before we went on the roller coaster?"

"Because I thought you would've blown chunks," she said. That figures. "Just eat your damn corn dog."

"Do you always have to ruin a moment?" he asked, taking another bite.

"You want a moment?" she asked. "Then let's have one."

"It doesn't work like that," said Ash. "I think my stomach's feeling better."

"Oh, quit whining, you big baby!" she said.

"I'm not whining!"

"You sound like you are," said Misty.

"Do you want me to leave you here?" he asked. That got her attention.

"Sorry," she said. "I thought it would be funny. Although you did overreact a little."

"I did not," he flatly denied.

"Yes you did!" said Misty. "You were screaming like a little girl, you were like, 'AAAAHHH'!"

"That doesn't even sound like a little girl!"

"Whatever," said Misty. "Although, I have to admit, it is nice just spend some time with you."

"Yeah," said Ash. "It is nice. So how have things been going at the Gym?"

"I haven't been as busy as usual," said Misty. "Probably because we're in high school and we're worried about which college we're going to."

"Oh, right," said Ash. "I'll have to start on my applications."

"You haven't?" Misty asked as if he was crazy.

"Hey, the school year just started," Ash replied. "We've got the whole year ahead of us."

"Oh yeah," said Misty. "And this whole… thing that's been going on lately. I was scared, Ash."

"Scared?" This is different. Okay, she was scared in Lavender, but… what?

"During that orc attack," she said. Oh. "I thought I was going to die. I didn't want to die without a fight, though."

"HAHAHA!" Ash laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"That's just like you, Misty!" he said. Misty smiled and laughed along with him.

"Three throws and if ya knock all the bottles down, ya get the grand prize!" the barker called out. Jimmy stopped right in front of the booth and walked over.

"Jimmy!" May shouted. "What are you doing?"

"I wanna play this thing!" said Jimmy.

"You do realize that thing's rigged, right?" said May.

"Hey, lady, I make my living honestly!" said the barker. "That'll be three dollars, kid."

"Thank you!" said Jimmy. He set, wound up and threw—

_SMASH! ! !_

May and the barker looked on astounded. Jimmy flashed a cheeky grin and said, "Gimmee my prize!"

"How did you—"

"What?" Jimmy asked. "I'm a pitcher! You should see my Curveball."

"So, you're on the baseball team?" asked May.

"I moved here during the summer, so no," said Jimmy. "I am going to try out this year, though."

"Good luck," said May. "This is California, not Illi-noize."

"It's pronounced 'Illinoy'," Jimmy growled. "Get it right! Jeez, I thought Californians knew how to prono—are you okay?"

"I don't know," she said. She was looking a little weak. And from what Jimmy could tell, she wasn't the only one. Several fairgoers were looking slumped over, including—

"Is that Denchu?" he asked, pointing at the blonde girl. He walked up to her and tapped her shoulder.

"McAndrew?" she asked, genuinely surprised. 'What are you doing here?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you," said Jimmy.

"If you're going to hit on me, forget it!" said Denchu.

"HAHAHA! Shot down again!" May said as Denchu stormed off.

"What—how are you feeling better?" asked Jimmy.

"I just walked away from… that booth, right there." She pointed at a booth with a crystal ball. The barker looked kind of suspicious. They just sat there behind the crystal ball. Everyone passing in front seemed to be getting sluggish. If there was any time to break out the S.H.I.E.L.D. credentials, it was pretty close to now.

However, it's not a good idea to go in there with guns blazing. Maybe an easy-going approach. "Hello," Jimmy said as he and May walked up. "What is this?"

"For five dollars I'll give you your fortune," said the fortune-teller.

"That sounds fun," said May. "He just got shot down, so he could find out if he's going to get the girl."

"Do you have to do that?" Jimmy asked as he handed the dollar over to the fortune teller. "So why is everyone walking away looking tired?" he asked.

"They are so overwhelmed they have no energy," said the fortune-teller.

"Reeeaaallllyyyy?" Jimmy asked. May sighed and shook her head. Jimmy wanted to talk to this fortune teller and see how good they were… and possibly smoke him out. "Let's see what you can do."

The fortune teller stared at the crystal ball. The two waited before the fortune teller spoke up. "I see… a shield." Uh-oh. "And a great army. There will be fire and brimstone! And DEATH!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah!" said Jimmy. "Do I get the girl or not?"

"There is something about you," said the fortune teller. "I see… colored spandex?" May tried to stifle a laugh. "And… girls in sailor outfits… DYING!"

"What about my girl?"

"You are going to DIE!" the fortune teller declared as if to warn him personally.

"Eh, we all gotta go sometime," he replied. "Say, have you ever heard of these guys named 'Shield' or something?"

"It seems familiar," said the fortune teller.

"What's going on here?" a familiar voice asked. Jimmy and May turned around to see—

"Oh, hey Kinomoto," said Jimmy. "_We're trying to smoke him out_," he mouthed. Touya approached the fortune teller.

"What do you see?" he asked forcefully.

"I seeee… Oh dear! You are going to have grave misfortune and suffering!" Touya was not impressed.

"You suck."

"You will regret that!" The fortune teller growled. The crystal ball turned black and began to give off a dark energy. Touya did more with two words than Jimmy and May could do with a subtle approach. By now it was clear something at to be done.

"Hold it right there!" Jimmy shouted as he and May pulled out their badges. "Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate! Surrender now!"

"Never!"

"Sir!" One S.H.I.E.L.D. agent shouted. "We're detecting a massive amount of energy coming from the Cerulean fairgrounds!" Fury rushed over to the computer screen.

"I assume the Rangers are there?" he asked.

"I've got their morphers on… oh, dear."

"They'd better get things under control there," said Fury. "Call the Cerulean police, have the fairgrounds evacuated immediately! And get McAndrew to call Ketchum on his cell phone, he might be on that date!"

Right on cue, Ash heard his cell phone ringing. It was Jimmy's cell phone, alright. Misty sighed in exasperation. "Dammit!" she muttered. "Why does this always happen?"

"I'm sorry," Ash said as he answered the phone. "What is it?"

"_Boss, we've got an emergency!_" Jimmy shouted from the other end. It sounded like there was a fight going on.

"Can it wait?" Ash asked. "I'm kind of busy!"

Just then—_**KABOOM!**_

An explosion in the distance sent the fairgoers running and screaming. Misty herself was caught up in this human stampede, leaving Ash unable to get to her. "_Is that enough of an emergency?_" Jimmy shouted.

"I'm on my way!" Ash replied, hanging up his phone and running off to the location of the explosion.

Misty, meanwhile, was struggling with the crowd. The crowd wasn't as bad as the attack on downtown, but it was still difficult to get through, anyhow. "Excuse me, pardon me," she said. It felt like she was in a treadmill pool there were so many people. If only she could transform right now. And if you think she should just jump to the side, the crowd was not as thin as you thought.

Eventually, it did get thin enough for her to try and duck out of the way. She darted off to a tree on the side, breathing heavily. Hey, _you _try moving against a crowd! She'd just gotten to the tree when she heard her phone ringing. "Hello?"

"_Waterflower, where are you?_" Denchu shouted. "_These orcs just popped up and—_"

"I saw the explosion!" Misty shouted. "Where are you?"

"_Near the ferris wheel_," said Denchu. "_Get_ _over here!_"

"Okay!" Misty said before hanging up.

Meanwhile, Jimmy, May and Touya had to deal with the orcs until Ash showed up. Jimmy staggered backwards after being whacked by an orc shield. He ducked under a punch. He punched the orc in the jaw. An orc rushed in, Jimmy dodged and kicked the orc into a couple of stands.

May, meanwhile, took an orc by the neck and threw it to the ground. She braced herself on a stand counter and kicked an orc right in the jaw. She rolled under several and literally swept them off their feet. She got up and kicked one in the jaw. With one orc down, she took her fists and slammed them into its neck.

Touya just threw punch after punch after punch, knocking out as many orcs as he needed. He got out of the way of one and grabbed the armor collar, throwing it at several orcs. They fell to the ground, their armor weighing them down. He roundhouse kicked another orc and it too, crashed into several orcs.

Jimmy was just wrapping up his batch when he turned around and felt someone squeezing his neck. He struggled, gasping for air while he was lifted up by the hooded fortune-teller. "You S.H.I.E.L.D. scum need to stay out of our way," it said menacingly.

"Why?" Jimmy choked out.

"Must I explain?" the fortune-teller asked.

"Y-yeah," he choked out.

"You're better off not knowing," said the fortune teller.

"F… fuck you!"

The fortune teller threw Jimmy into a booth across from it. His body crashed into the booth and pretty much destroyed the front. He writhed in pain while the fortune teller advanced on him. "I will have your energy," said the fortune teller.

That's when someone pulled a Dynamic Entry, kicking the fortune teller right in the head. "Are you okay?" the voice asked.

"Next time," said Jimmy. "Get here sooner."

"I hope that's not an order," Ash said as he held out his hand.

"Nope," he replied, taking it and letting Ash pull him up. May and Touya gathered with them.

"Let's kick this up a notch," said Ash. They pulled out their morph chips and inserted them in their morphers. "Ready?"

"_Ready!_"

"_RPM, Get in Gear!_"

The Sailors had transformed by now and were tearing through orcs with their elemental magic. Okay, part of it involved physical hand-to-hand combat, but since we're running close to the end, we'll skip those descriptions (sorry). But in short, they were cleaning out the orcs the Power Rangers didn't get to.

"What happened?" Misty/Ocean asked out of the blue.

"We're not sure!" replied Thunder/Denchu. "They just appeared out of no—"

"Will you two shut up?" Fire/Deshi shouted while burning an orc. "Where are they coming from?"

"What about over there?" Misty/Ocean asked, noting a flash of light and an explosion.

"We could try!" said Thunder/Denchu. "Let's go!"

Unfortunately for the Rangers, brute strength was not enough. The fortune teller just blasted them aside every time they tried to get close, treating them like a piece of dirt. This prompted Touya to pull out his custom weapon, the Rocket Blaster. Basically, it looked like a dog head turned into a gun.

"What is he, an idiot?" Jimmy asked. "Look at that guy, the fortune dude's just deflecting his blasts!"

"No, it's a good idea!" Ash replied. "The fortune teller's distracted. May, go!"

"I'm on it!" she replied, getting up and rushing the fortune teller. She jumped, kicked…

… And was whacked to the side. She crashed into a couple of booths and then landed on something. Probably because of the force of her landing, she felt her helmet come off as she landed on someone's body. "Ow," she said. She got up off the person's chest, looked up and—

Oh, crap.

She found herself face-to-face with Drew. _He was here?_ She thought.

"May?"

While it felt like forever, it really lasted a second. She shoved her hand in his face and pushed his head to the ground. "You didn't see anything, civilian!" she shouted before getting up and grabbing her helmet to go back and fight the fortune teller.

Now that Ash's strategy had fallen apart, they found themselves once again dealing with the fortune teller's wrath. "Were you not warned?" it shouted. "Stay out of our way!"

"Why?" Ash asked.

"DO NOT! ASK! WHY!" the fortune teller bellowed.

"Well, in that case," Ash punched the fortune teller.

The Sailors, meanwhile, arrived late. "Damn orcs," Thunder/Denchu muttered. "What's going on?"

"I have no idea," said Ocean/Misty. "Hey, what's that?" A crystal ball rolled into their line of sight. There were sounds of fighting on the other side of the booths. Now, if I had time to write this I would, but since I'm running out of my self-imposed word limit, I don't have the luxury of giving the Sailors enough time to fight, so the Sailors are going to make this quick.

"I have an idea," said Thunder/Denchu.

"DIE!"

"Whatever it is, make it quick!" said Fire/Deshi.

"That crystal ball, our powers," said Thunder/Denchu. "Got that?"

"Is that really going to work?" asked Ocean/Misty.

"Do you have any other ideas?" Thunder/Denchu asked. "Stunning Thunder!"

"Fire Ball!" Their attacks struck the crystal ball throwing smoke and fire into the air. The fortune teller screamed in agony. It got Ash's attention.

"Why didn't I think of that?" he asked to himself. He pulled out his blaster right as Misty prepared her attack.

"Tidal… WAVE!" She launched her attack right as Ash fired his blaster. Their combined efforts caused the ball to explode and Nick Fury to curse under his breath.

"AAH!" The fortune teller screamed.

"Well that was easy!" said Jimmy.

"THE ENERGY!" it screamed. "MASTER, FORGIVE ME!"

"And that was easy, too," said May.

"No time for talk!" said Ash. "Let's finish this!"

"_Road Blaster!_"

"You'll pay for this!" the fortune teller declared. "I may not carry it out, but my comrades will!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, 'a plague o' both your houses'!" Ash taunted.

"Let's finish this," said Thunder/Denchu. "Whatever it is."

"Ready!" Ash shouted. May put in her Engine Cell.

"Aim!" she said.

"Stunning Thunder!"

"Fire Ball!"

"Tidal WAVE!"

"_FIRE!_" Both teams launched their attacks at the same time and the fortune teller exploded on contact.

"That was easy," said Touya.

"Not exactly," said Ash.

"Hey guys," said May. "I think we have company.

"Dammit!" Ash growled. "You three again?"

"HEY!" Thunder/Denchu shouted. "Don't say that to us!" She got right up in Ash's face, pointing right at him. "If it wasn't for us, you'd still be fight that-whatever-it-was!"

"You got here late!" Ash shouted. "Why should we thank you?"

"Forget it!" said Thunder. "Let's get out of here; I've had enough of him."

"Good riddance!" said Jimmy. "Wait, what about Drew?"

"Jeez!" May growled, turning around and finding herself face-to-face with him. "Where did you come from, civilian?"

"May, quit lying," he said, getting overly aggressive.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, turning away. Drew stopped her, grabbing her upper arm. She sighed and looked at him in an annoyed manner. "Did you really just do that?" she asked. "I could beat the crap out of you with one hand."

"You've got some explaining to do!" The green-haired coordinator shouted.

"Are you actually threatening me?" she asked. "Are you—Blue!"

"What?" Jimmy asked after giving Drew a sleeper hold. "We've been compromised, I had to do something!"

"But—"

"May, forget it," said Ash. "Let's just get him to S.H.I.E.L.D."

* * *

><p>"That was not how I wanted my day to end," Misty complained with Deshi and Denchu in her room.<p>

"Sorry," said Denchu. "Although I'm more annoyed with our lessened role."

"What was that thing threatening us for?" Deshi asked.

"It's a 'plague on both your houses' thing," said Denchu. "I wouldn't worry about it."

"I would," said Misty. "It doesn't sound good.

* * *

><p>End chapter<p>

Oh, finally, that's over. Anyway, sorry this took so long, but I've been busy with a job search, but I got a BIG internship coming up, so wish me luck! I'll give you a clue: It's a BIG radio station in a BIG American city.

I saw _The Avengers_, too, so expect some _Avengers_ shout-outs soon (it was AWESOME!)


End file.
